Death, Conflict and the Heroes of Time
by Bra1n1ac
Summary: Others have begun to follow in the footsteps of the Hero of Time, but suddenly, Hyrule is under attack by the very forces of death itself, intent on slaying all that remains of Hyrule and its people.  Wondrous sights, heroic feats and regular updates.
1. P1 Ch1 The Pirates

Note: If you started reading in the original format, look to the bottom of the chapter for a guide on how to find where you left off.

* * *

Incursion

* * *

Prologue

* * *

It was mid-afternoon in Hyrule, and yet, no sunlight penetrated the library of Princess Zelda. From deep within the rocky hall that she'd started using as her personal hideout over the course of the last year, she could no longer hear the sounds of the birds flying above her on the wind, feel the breeze of the mid-afternoon on her face, or see even the smallest glimmer of sunlight. It was a hard way to live, but at least she was still alive, and she was still busy. There was much that needed to be done if her people were ever to be saved from their new ruler.

Princess Zelda was a figurehead in Hyrule's resistance, as invisible and secret as she had to be, and her duties to them couldn't be ignored for anything. Those were the thoughts and feelings that drove her on as she wrote another page in the book of experimental spells on which she was working. With a little luck, she thought, one might be found one day that could actually do the people of Hyrule some good.

As she wrote, Princess Zelda never looked up from the book. She wasn't certain that she could have seen much, even if she had. The only source of light in the room was the small candle that sat on her desk next to her as she wrote. It was in that environment, and in that difficult time, that Princess Zelda heard a knock on her door; a knock she hadn't been expecting at all.

"Come in." she said, not looking up from the paper she was writing, as the door at the far end of her library opened. That, however, was when Princess Zelda looked up at the new arrival. He walked towards her quickly, past shelf after shelf of ancient books, and she needed to at least do him the honor of looking at him. He was the greatest source of hope in her life, and he'd returned to her.

"Hello." said Link, saluting as he approached, "I'm back."

"Already?" Zelda was amazed, but delighted as she stared across the room as the young man, "You can't have found our hijacker that quickly."

"Actually, finding him wasn't a problem." Link replied with a frown, "But he had on this magic mask, and... well, it's a long story, but he won't give you any more trouble. I can guarantee that."

Zelda put her pen back in the ink and turned to face Link, feeling nothing but astonishment and admiration for the young man who'd done so much to assist her in the past. She'd never expected him to solve the mystery of the robber in the mist so quickly. Link had been gone for less than a month on that errand, and she hadn't expected him to solve the problem so quickly. Still, in the end, Link's victory was a minor one, and Zelda had worries that she couldn't ignore.

"I don't know how much longer I'll be able to hide out here." Zelda admitted, her expression turning sad, "Ganondorf is already on the move. There are monsters appearing everywhere, and if he notices me, I'm afraid of what might happen."

"I think" Link began, his face taking on a much more serious expression, "that you should leave right away. If you're in this area when he conquers it, there might be no hope of doing what needs to be done."

It made Zelda feel pretty sad when Link reminded her of that, though she tried her best to smile for his sake, even when she heard those haunting words.

"What needs to be done." It had been several months since she'd had time to think about that, and yet, there was nothing more important. When it came down to it, the two of them were the most important people in the kingdom. If Zelda was captured, then Link would receive no guidance or advice from the mysterious "Shiek" in the future, which he remembered as his own past.

It was complicated, like all things involving time travel, but the long and short of it was that the two of them needed to survive. If one of them died before the end of the next six years, there would be no more hope for the people of Hyrule.

"You're right, of course." Zelda admitted, getting up from her chair to approach Link more closely, "but it's terrible to have to leave so quickly, and lose so much. It's a painful thing for me, Link. If I leave now, Hyrule will lose all of the history contained in these books. That's such a waste."

"Oh!" Link exclaimed, pulling a pouch from the pocket inside his tunic in a flash of what looked like inspiration, and dumping several thousand carrots on the gray, marble floor of Zelda's little library from inside of it, "I think this might solve your problem. It's a bottomless bag. You can carry just about anything in it, as long as you can fit it through the opening at the top. You can use it to take as many books as you like. It was given to me by... a friend, and now it's yours if you want it."

"Oh, Link!" Zelda exclaimed, embracing him in delight over his resourcefulness and generosity, "You're the greatest."

Link, however, didn't really respond to the high compliment that Zelda had just given him. He could see that she was still afraid and upset, and because of that, Link didn't feel all that great either.

"I'd better get back to Kokiri Forest," Link said, heading towards the library door, as Zelda began putting books into the bag, "but just in case we lose track of each other, don't forget your part. I'll need your help in six years. Hopefully, we can talk more when all of this is over with."

"I'll miss the company." Zelda replied, her smile returning for a moment, in spite of the stress of her more recent experiences, "Goodbye Link. May your fate be pleasant."

* * *

Link and Zelda did indeed lose track of one another over the next four years. As Zelda went into hiding in an attempt to prevent Ganondorf from discovering her location, there was no chance for her to seek out Link in Kokiri Forest, and it would have been too dangerous anyhow. Ganondorf wasn't aware that Link's physical body was still in Hyrule, and he would have been very eager to see Link dead if he'd known. Zelda was having enough trouble avoiding him as things were, and didn't want to give Link any more of that trouble than necessary.

It was at that point in time that Link finally confronted Saria with what he'd always wanted to say to her, but had never had the strength to. By that time, Link was starting to grow up, and his tasks were becoming easier and easier. He was about 15 years of age, and looked every second of it. He only had two more years to wait before his other self and the sages would return piece to Hyrule, but he had to ask Saria a question.

Saria was sitting on a stump in the Forest, playing her ocarina, when Link approached her. He crouched down quickly, so as to be on eye level with her, before he tried to speak. No matter how much taller than her he grew; no matter how young she looked, and no matter how much time had passed, he found that he couldn't contain it any longer. He spoke out to her in a voice full of emotion, hoping against hope that she might feel just as strongly.

"Saria." Link said slowly, "I... I've felt this way since I was 10, but I... I mean I..."

Saria giggled a little when she saw him stammering like that, but Link knew that he had to continue. If he didn't speak his mind, then and there, he'd regret it for the rest of his life.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" Link finally asked, "Maybe on the riverbank bordering the Deku Tree's meadow? We could talk about... things."

For a moment, Saria looked up into Link's eyes, and she was pleased to see sincerity in his gaze, but something else was worrying her, and she quickly turned away, sorrow filling her heart.

"I'm sorry, Link." Saria said grimly, hoping that he wouldn't take it the wrong way, "but I think it's best if you don't try to pursue a relationship with me just now."

"I suppose you're right." Link said almost at once, turning away from Saria. He was hurt pretty deeply by her refusal, though he tried not to show it, "You're probably too young for me anyway."

"Link!" yelled Saria as he walked away from her. Sure enough, he'd been hurt by her reply, and that hadn't been what she'd wanted. Soon, she was running behind him at top speed. Not wishing to hurt her feelings, Link slowed down, allowing her to catch up.

"It's not that." explained Saria, once she was close enough that she and Link could walk together, side by side, "You see, I'm plenty old enough for you. I'm more than a thousand years old. I know it may seem impossible, but back when the Deku Tree made me, things were built to last. I've never revealed that to any other Hylian, Link. I do love you, but the information you gave me five years ago, about your adventure into the future, where I was a Sage..."

"You don't believe me?" Link stammered. In a way, that hurt his feelings even more than anything else she'd said or done.

"No!" was Saria's immediate response, "I completely believe you. I know you'd never tell me a lie, but if I'm to be a Sage, I don't think that I want to run off to guard the forest temple and leave you heartbroken."

It was a disappointment, but at least Link understood where Saria was coming from. It was hard not to sympathize with her position, and Link cared enough about her that he was willing to respect her wishes. A few more years weren't too much longer to wait anyway. In the end, Link knew that the best thing he could do would be to leave the subject where was, and wait patiently for her to be ready.

* * *

Sure enough, the time came, only two years later, when Ganondorf was defeated, and sealed back away in the Sacred Realm. The Hero of Time was hailed as the one responsible for that incredible feat, and thanks to the death and rebirth of the Deku Tree, the Kokiri no longer had any reason to fear the outside world. They could even leave the forest freely, and associate with the other races of Hyrule.

At that time, however, when both Link and Saria returned to their people, no words of love, and very few of friendship were shared between them. Link had suspected that Saria was simply too busy, just as he was, helping with repairs to Hyrule, and doing what she could to restore the glory of the forest, but months passed, and then years, and she still said nothing about it.

Two years after the defeat of Ganondorf, the repairs were largely complete, and yet, Link and Saria were still silent. Each seemed surprised that the other hadn't said anything since the repairs had been finished, and yet, neither was quite ready to speak on the subject. Even at that point, when they thought that their troubles, and Hyrule's troubles were over, they never expressed their true feelings, and unfortunately, that was when evil surfaced in Hyrule again.

* * *

Chapter 1: The Pirates

* * *

By that point, there was no doubt that Epona belonged to Link, though he would often be generous enough to let other people ride if Epona was willing to cooperate. Malon visited Link and Epona every day to check up on the horse's health, and make sure her food supplies weren't running low.

Much of Link's time, however, had been spent in teaching his unique fighting style to a small group of students, who were apparently in line to become Hylian guards and soldiers very soon. Link was pleased that his techniques were generating such success, and had plans to teach a slightly larger group as well. They were unambitious plans, perhaps, but it never occurred to him that more might have been needed from him.

By that point, Link had become something of a local champion. People looked up to him, and respected him as the Hero of Time, and from their faith in him, Link knew that he couldn't disappoint them, and he had to keep up his training, just in case another danger to the kingdom ever surfaced. Link was probably the most recognized champion of Hyrule by that point, and it was his job to protect his people as best he could.

Because of that, Link had begun finding the simple errands in Kokiri Forest too easy to keep up his training over the course of the past several years, and had started to develop a schedule of sorts for himself to follow each day.

In the early morning, Link would roam through Kokiri Forest, hunting monsters and stopping them from doing any harm. By late morning, he was off through Hyrule Field, firing off arrows at bushes from a distance of ninety yards. When he'd hit his target enough times in a row, he'd start firing them from further away.

When noon came, Link did the exact same thing again, only perched atop Epona, who was running at high speed. In late-afternoon, Link would practice unarmed combat with the gerudo, wrestling their greatest champions bare-handed.

Finally, as the evening started to approach, Link went to the freshly-rebuilt Hyrule Castle, where he met with Zelda for the last phase of his daily regiment. He was trying to perfect a technique of disrupting magic spells, and Zelda, he knew, could help him with that.

Zelda had moved from using simple spells, to medium-level ones, and Link had succeeded in disrupting them, by cutting through the energized magic that made them up. It was an incredible feat. That was Link's final exercise for the day, but it wouldn't be his last responsibility. It fact, it was only the beginning.

* * *

The invisible force of the magic spell flew through the air, sending a crackling sound in every direction. Link clutched his sword tightly, closing his eyes to listen for the noise, as he swung his weapon. Invisible as it was, he could find it by concentrating on the sound, and once he'd found it...

Link swung his weapon with great force and accuracy, disrupting the energy flow at the very heart of the spell, and causing it to dissipate. The air gave a low whine as it was torn through with enormous speed, and the spell faded, like a river, that had been dammed up.

For several moments, that same feat was repeated. Link's sword cut through the air like a powerful wind, and finally, as each spell was dissipated, Link lowered his weapon. He could see that Princess Zelda was starting to sweat, even though he was still feeling perfectly fresh.

Zelda relaxed as Link gave a signal that he was finished for the night. It was obvious that expending that much magic at once was becoming difficult, even for her. Those spells weren't hard to cast, but doing it over and over all evening was a chore.

Zelda waited for Link to put his sword away and pick up his bag of equipment, sliding it into a pocket inside his tunic before she said anything. She was feeling magically drained, even though her physical body wasn't tired per se, but she'd seen just how much Link had been getting out of their recent training together, and she had to speak up about it.

"I don't think I'm really helping you at this point, Link."

Link started to feel pretty sad when he heard that. He had some idea of what Zelda meant by those words, but nevertheless, he turned to face her, concern growing in his expression.

"What do you mean?" Link asked, "I have to keep at my best, right? I mean, if problems arise, I have to be able to rise to the challenge."

"Every night you come here and chop apart waves of mana." Zelda noted sadly, "I'm just not sure how that's supposed to help you fight evil, though. Link, I'm not trying to make light of your training ideas, but that's all this is; training. We've both been in battle before, so you know that no training is the same as really being on a mission, or in danger."

"If you want to live in peace, then just forget this training and live in peace, but if you don't think you can do that, then you don't have to come back here every night just for this. You know that what you really need isn't practice at disrupting magic spells. That doesn't keep you sharp."

Of course, it was true. Link's skill had grown since he'd started training, but his reflexes had suffered, because he hadn't been in any genuine danger, or needed to protect people from harm. He wouldn't have wished danger on his people for any reason, but there was only so much that simple training could teach him at that point.

However, as Link thought about those things, his sharp ears picked up the sound of someone approaching quickly towards Zelda. She was clothed in a simple Hylian dress, with a light skirt to allow for large strides, and she looked absolutely terrified. Link had seen the young lady once or twice before. She was a royal messenger named Nalabal, and one of the fastest sprinters in the kingdom.

"Princess!" Nalabal exclaimed as she got closer. The closer she got to Zelda and Link, however, the more clearly Link could see the fear on her face. There was something that she was terrified of; maybe even more than one thing.

"Nalabal..." Princess Zelda said, as soon as the young messenger was close enough to hear her, "What is it? What's wrong?"

"M'lady," Nalabal hurriedly announced, straightening up as best she could, to make her announcement, "Ruto town is under attack!"

Link was shocked to hear that. Ruto was a port town that had only recently been established to the south of Lake Hylia, and, it occurred to him after thinking about it for only a moment, anyone attacking Hyrule from the south would strike there first.

"Attacked?" Link asked quickly, intruding into the conversation in a way that wasn't customary to Hylians, "What kind of attack?"

Nalabal knew who Link was, of course. Everyone did, so in spite of the minor breach of courtesy he'd committed, she answered his questions quickly.

"A ship pulled into the Ruto harbor a couple days ago." Nalabal explained, "They didn't explain their business, or signal us in any way, and we're not even sure whose ship it is, or what they want. They just started firing on Ruto from on-board cannons after about a day in port. Many buildings have already been demolished, and there are numerous injuries. The inhabitants of the town needed to move further inland to escape the bombardment for the most part."

"So they just sat in the harbor for a whole day before attacking?" Link asked curiously, drawing a nod of confirmation from Nalabal, "I wonder why."

"There's more..." Nalabal continued, "Apparently, the zora are sending an advance party to try to conquer Hyrule Castle."

"The zora?" Link asked, confused and alarmed, "I don't understand. I thought they were our friends."

"No one I've talked to knows their reasoning." Nalabal replied, shaking her head sadly, "Maybe if you can track them down and reason with them, they won't follow through with their threats."

"Well, I'll do what I can..." Link said, showing just a little irritation, "The zora are very powerful, though. If they really do want war, I can't think of any way we could prevent it. I just hope they're willing to listen to reason."

Quickly, Link turned to face Zelda, and his expression was stern and committed when he spoke.

"I'll need to take care of this right away." Link insisted, "It's... Well, you know how urgent it is."

"I wasn't expecting tonight to turn out like this," Zelda replied, "but I've already signaled for additional help."

"Help?" Link asked, a little surprised at first, but adapting to the new information quickly, "You mean the sorcerer you told me about?"

"Right." Zelda replied with a nod, "I sent him a telepathic message just now, and he's agreed to help us with this emergency. He'll be waiting for you at the entrance to Gerudo Valley, and... Link, there's a chance he might be hard to get along with. Just... try to be patient with him, alright? You might need his help."

Zelda tried to smile as she watched Link's determination rise in him. That, she knew, was why she could never allow herself to fall in love with Hyrule's hero. He'd always be up and off to fight some new danger, and whenever he did, she'd be consumed by worry. They'd both be better off, she realized, if she kept their relationship platonic.

"Don't worry, Princess." Link said with a smile, as he headed towards the exit of the courtyard, "I'll take care of this. No matter what, I'll make sure our people are safe."

* * *

Grass flew in all directions as Link's feet collided with the ground dozens of times per minute at incredible speed. His path took him out of the castle and towards the entrance of gerudo valley, to meet up with the mage, who Zelda had told him about.

Hylians in general seemed to think the same way Link did about the gerudo; that they were exciting, interesting, and different, just like all the peoples of Hyrule. No one held it against them for Ganondorf's betrayal, and as for the thieves guild, no one held it against them either. After all, the thieves guild was the only reason the gerudo were able to maintain a civilized society. It was the glue that held them all together. The gerudo were unscrupulous, as a people, and as a civilization, but they definitely weren't all evil.

However, as Link approached Gerudo Valley, he was shocked to see that the person waiting for him to arrive, standing by the valley's entrance was definitely a gerudo, and what's more, a man as well.

The wizard was dressed in thin, leather armor, which covered everything but his head, and a long cloak and hood. In one hand, he held a long staff, with a large crystal set into its top.

Link could barely believe it. He'd never expected to see another male gerudo since Ganondorf's defeat, especially after what Nabooru had told him about the unique aspects of her races' procreation.

"Greetings from all three points of the Triforce, Hero of Time." said the gerudo, as Link approached, "You don't need to introduce yourself, of course, but you may call me Stalflare."

Naturally, Link was surprised. Males were normally a rare thing to the gerudo, and yet, he could see quite plainly that Stalflare was indeed a male, and a male whose hair had begun to gray around the edges. The large, blue crystal at the end of his staff gleamed slightly in the sun, as he and Link looked at each other, each wondering if the other would be the first to speak. At last, though, Link's curiosity got the better of him, and he spoke up first.

"Greetings, Stalflare. I'm a little confused, though..." Link said, drawing a smirk from the gerudo sorcerer, "I mean, I thought males were only born to the gerudo once every hundred years. Ganondorf was the male born to the gerudo during this century, and yet... here you are."

"Your confusion is quite expected." Stalflare replied, still smirking a little as he explained things, "You see, I wasn't born among the gerudo. I was born a Hylian, then transformed into a gerudo by a spell when I was very young. That was when I knew that I needed to master magic to a great degree, to get what I truly deserved. Now, here I am."

"I see." Link thought silently, "This must be the work of Koume and Kotake. I'm glad those two can't cause any more trouble..."

"Actually, there is one more thing I'm curious about." Link admitted aloud, "You see, I only met Ganondorf a couple of times, and only for a few minutes, but I've heard the gerudo talk about him with so much respect in the past, and... Well, I guess I'm just wondering what Ganondorf was really like. When I fought him, he seemed like such a maniac. Was there any more to him than that? Is there part of the picture I'm missing?"

"Well," Stalflare said, looking thoughtful for a moment, "our queen Nabooru knew him much better and longer than I did, but this much I can tell you; he was a master of both sorcery and science, and he knew how best to use those arts to heal and harm at a level far superior to my own. I'm afraid, however, that I didn't know him very well when he was younger, or during his early reign. From what I've heard, that was the time before things went wrong."

However, Link was starting to get worried. In that moment, Stalflare had compared his own mastery of magic effortlessly with Ganondorf's, and that made Link just a little suspicious of him.

"Did you know him, Stalflare?" Link asked, trying to keep himself from seeming untrusting of the mage.

"He taught me many spells in the years prior to the great war, and fortunately, few philosophies." Stalflare replied quickly, "It was during, and just after the war that many of the gerudo who sought to understand magic were taken in by Ganondorf as his pupils. I was perhaps the most gifted, with the exception of Ganondorf himself."

Naturally, the thought that Stalflare had not only known Ganondorf, but had actually been his student sent a pang of dread through Link's mind, which Stalflare seemed to have noticed. In a moment, each had grown a bit more worried about the other, but they remained silent about those worries as they began their travels together.

* * *

Neither Link nor Stalflare spoke, and both were still worrying when they arrived at the waterfall outside the zora's domain... Even so, they were still traveling together, and still determined to stop whatever or whoever threatened the peace in Hyrule. Perhaps that was what really mattered, in the end.

At last, when Link and Stalflare reached the waterfall at the end of the zora's river, Link saw something that he feared even more than his recent suspicions about Stalflare. Just outside of the zora's domain, four zoras stood, one a bit taller and broader than the others. All four were carrying weapons which, in the Zora fashion, resembled Tridents, though.

Link frowned as he realized that Nalabal's message had been true after all. Of course, there was nothing more to do than confront the problem head on, but Link didn't like the idea of having to fight zoras, especially since he'd once thought of them as such good friends. With Stalflare still following behind him in uncomfortable silence, Link slowly approached the water-dwelling warriors, hoping that he might be able to get through to them.

"Hail." Link said, as he got closer to the armed zoras, "I've heard some disturbing rumors, I'm afraid, and I wanted to investigate them. Is it true you've declared war on the hylians?"

"No one wants war, hylian." the largest of the zoras; their apparent chief replied, "However, we cannot allow the hylians to continue occupying the Temple of Time."

By that point, of course, Link was becoming very curious. The motives of the zoras were becoming clearer, and yet, he wanted to be sure that he understood them completely.

"What does the Temple of Time have to do with it?" Link asked, hoping that his hunch was wrong.

"It's because the Temple of Time is the doorway to the Triforce." responded the zora chief at once, "Years ago, waves of control swept over this land from the Triforce, bringing anguish and misery to the zoras, and freezing our domain solid. If we want to prevent such a thing from ever happening again, we must seize control of the Temple of Time."

When he heard that, Stalflare spoke up immediately, in a voice full of utter contempt, and soon, all eyes were on him, "That is the height of arrogance! Do you honestly believe you can better defend the Triforce from betrayal?"

Hoping not to seem rude, and trying to cover for Stalflare's outburst, Link quickly spoke up again, attempting to be as gentle with his words as possible, "Try to look at this from our point of view. Two years ago, a gerudo we thought we could trust seized the Triforce. We were fooled, because we let him near the Temple of Time. As its guardians, do you think we'll be so ready to let someone near the Temple of Time again?"

"After all," Stalflare commented suspiciously, "if a gerudo can betray Hyrule, certainly a zora..."

"I've heard more than enough!" The large zora growled, raising his trident menacingly, "You hylians won't stop until we're all dead and dust! We must take the Temple of Time now, and if you want to get in our way, then you'd better defend yourselves!"

At once, the zoras charged Link and Stalflare, tridents outstretched! Quickly, Link leapt back, and fired off a volley of arrows at the first two zoras, who stumbled, but kept coming...

Stalflare, in the meantime, was firing off bolts of electricity from the gem on his wooden staff. Link drew his sword to parry the tridents of the three smaller zoras, before he struck the ground with his fist, and a dome of flames erupted from his body, driving them back. Then, in seconds, he was in the air, and before the zoras could respond, Link was behind them, and the first three warriors fell to the ground dead.

Their leader, enraged and determined, fired off an electric bolt from his Trident, but Stalflare intercepted it with one of his own. Then, by the time the large Zora could raise his weapon again... His torso was no longer in one piece...

...Stalflare stood by, surveying the damage they'd done, in a way that made it almost seem as though he did that sort of thing daily. Link, however, was kneeling in the midst of what remained of the battle, with his sword embedded in the ground, and a very sad and penitent expression on his face.

"May Nayru, immortal Goddess of Wisdom, founder of the laws by which all life forms are governed, forgive me for what I've been forced to do this day... May Din protect the fallen as they journey to their home everlasting."

With those final words of prayer, Link pulled his sword back out of the ground, and plunged the four Tridents into the dirt side by side, one at a time. It was an ugly sort of ritual to have to complete, but its importance couldn't be denied. People had died in that place a very short time ago, and that death was something to be honored, even for the worst enemies that Link had.

Slowly, the Hero of Time rose to his feet, put his sword back into its sheath, and started walking south, towards Lake Hylia, and he didn't say a word to Stalflare about it, leaving the gerudo sorcerer with many questions about the young hero.

Obviously, Link had just killed several times in a row, in almost a ruthless way. The zoras had, admittedly, committed to a fight to the death, and never tried to yield, but Stalflare wondered how anyone as compassionate as him could deliver the death blow so readily...

* * *

As Link dashed across Hyrule Field just a short time after that brutal confrontation with the zoras, trusting that Stalflare would be able to keep up with him on the way, however, he gradually found himself encountering monsters of various types. At first, it was only simple peahats; fiercely territorial plants, that could fly through the air by spinning their blade-like roots, but as he progressed further south, Link noticed that a small troupe of moblins was hiding in the woods just north of Lake Hylia.

The moblins were large, brutal creatures; some of them as many as eight feet tall, with enormous muscles, and faces like bulldogs. They carried large, dangerous-looking spears, and in his adventures, Link had seen those kinds of moblin spears used for both charging and throwing attacks, and knew how to respond to each. The problem was that there shouldn't have been any moblins in Hyrule.

In a few swift motions, the Hero of Time dashed out towards the moblins, and fired his hookshot at them repeatedly in the legs and shoulders, striking their vital points, until they'd begun to evaporate into enchanted smoke, but he didn't utter a final prayer for the sake of the moblins. They weren't, after all, even really alive.

However, as Link put his hookshot away, he noticed something about Stalflare that he hadn't realized before. Although the gerudo sorcerer had been relatively silent for most of the time that they'd been traveling together, he'd watched Link's last fight with the moblins carefully, barely even blinking at any point. It was as if he was studying Link, in an attempt to learn more about him, and it was hard to fault him for that desire. It made perfect sense to study one's enemies and allies alike, if only to learn from them. However, it was obvious that Stalflare still didn't trust Link, which was a little sad, he thought.

"You don't seem pleased with your victory." Stalflare finally said, speaking directly to Link for the first time since the fight with the zoras.

"The victory isn't really what's on my mind right now." Link admitted, trying to wave off the mage's concern.

"If you're not thinking about the battle, what are you thinking about?" Stalflare asked, though for some reason, he was frowning deeply as he asked that.

"Well," Link finally admitted, "peahats are bad enough, but at least they're a type of monster that occurs naturally in the world. What I just fought were moblins; soldiers of darkness, that move according to the will of black magic, and they shouldn't exist in Hyrule at all."

Immediately, Stalflare's eyes narrowed, as he realized what Link was trying to say.

"Yes." The gerudo wizard replied, looking thoughtful for a moment, "I read something about that in one of Ganondorf's old tomes, though I've never created a moblin myself. Apparently, they subsist on dark sorcery, and are incapable of existing without it."

"Yes," Link replied with a nod, "but it's more than that. Moblins and other dark creatures are harder to make in Hyrule than in other lands, because Hyrule is a holy land, protected by numerous purifying spells, that are as strong today as when they were first cast. To bypass those spells requires magic of incredible power, and a great deal of talent on the part of the sorcerer involved. In fact, I've only met two beings who could wield dark magic on that scale in all my travels, and both were extremely dangerous. If there's a third out there, it could mean a lot of trouble for Hyrule."

"Perhaps." Replied Stalflare, and with that single, enigmatic word, he looked away from Link again, and didn't say another word to him until the two had nearly reached Lake Hylia.

* * *

As bad a sign as three moblins were, however, Link had managed to find one that was even worse by the time he and Stalflare reached Lake Hylia. Five stalfos were patrolling back and forth along the northern banks of the lake; their bones clattering as they moved. As fighters, they certainly weren't as strong as moblins, but as an omen of dark magic, they were just as bad.

As great as their numbers were, Link didn't hesitate. In a moment, his sword was drawn, and he was cutting through the boney monsters left and right. As he fought with the stalfos, Link found that he'd lost track of Stalflare, but he did notice that one of the skeletal creatures would occasionally be struck with a powerful electric charge, or a small burst of flame, seemingly as if from nowhere. That was the only clue Link had that Stalflare was even still around during the fight, until the last stalfo fell to pieces, and a large raven with black and gray feathers descended to the ground nearby, staring intently at Link.

In moments, however, the raven had grown larger, then its feathers had changed into hair, and its wings into leathery armor, and suddenly, there was Stalflare, his whole cloak and staff seeming to crackle with electricity, just as the remains of the stalfos had, and that was when Link realized what Stalflare had been up to during the fight. While Link had been in the thick of it, fighting the monsters directly with his weapons, Stalflare had kept his distance and attacked from the air, in avian form. It was certainly an easier way to do things.

Of course, Link was glad to know more about the powers of his new ally, even if he still didn't quite trust him. Stalflare's knowledge of magic seemed very well-rounded, even if he claimed not to be as powerful as Ganondorf had been.

At last, the two reached the south end of Lake Hylia, where the path carved by Link's Hylian brothers and sisters traveled south towards Ruto.

"This is the path we're looking for." Link told Stalflare, as they paused for a moment, "Ruto is just south from here. Are you ready?"

"I have to be." Stalflare replied sensibly, although his scowl never vanished from his face as he spoke, "There are people in danger, and they need our help. Nothing else matters right now."

There was no real need to respond to a statement like that, though Link did nod with a smile. Stalflare took a slightly different approach to fighting evil than he did, but he was starting to realize that deep down inside, the gerudo wizard wasn't a bad person.

With that, the two figures continued south down the carved path, out from the borders of Hyrule...

* * *

However, at the very moment when the two champions of Hyrule left, something was happening at the place where the three Moblins had been killed only recently. A small cloud of bats descended from the sky in a single, rapid movement, and in seconds, they were gone again. In their place was a man, decorated in a long, black cape, and by his side, what appeared to be a stalfo, only larger, and with more sharp, boney protrusions around its teeth, elbows, and shoulders. The two figures stared south, as though watching Link and his companion leave, content in the knowledge that even Link's far-ranging eyesight wouldn't be able to spot the new arrivals...

Slowly, in a voice that was light and airy, like wind traveling through a pipe, the stalfo spoke out, saying "The Hero of Time could prove to be a nuisance, master. Shall we pursue him?"

However, the man in the cloak simply waved the offer aside with a soft smile, saying, "No. I don't see any reason to fight him just yet. After all, we have time to establish a power base of our own right now, and if we can do that, it'll take away virtually everything that he has to fight for. With a little luck, we may not need to confront the Hero of Time directly at all."

* * *

Link and Stalflare traveled many miles south, along the path between Hyrule and the port town of Ruto, but as Hylians never tire from running, it wasn't so difficult to make the journey. Stalflare, having similar powers, had no problem speaking when the ocean came into view, and he could see the tiny town that bordered it, but it was Link who spoke first, as the glimmering ocean to the south filled their field of vision...

"That's Ruto." Link said, pointing out the walls of the port town to the south, as the two travelers slowly got closer. He'd only been there a couple of times in the past, but Stalflare, it seemed, had never been there before at all, and was pretty curious about the place.

"Ruto." Stalflare contemplated aloud, as he slowed down for a moment on the road to their destination, "It's an odd name for a town of any kind."

"It's an odd name for anything," Link admitted with a chuckle, "but Zelda insisted out of respect."

That caught Stalflare's interest, and when he replied, it was in a more inquisitive tone, "Respect to who? Who or what was it named after?"

"Ruto" Link explained quickly, "was the name of the sage of water, who helped me save Hyrule two years back."

Stalflare's eyebrows rose just a little when Link said that. Obviously, he found that very interesting, though not, it would seem, terribly surprising.

"Ah, I see." He observed aloud, "Water; thus the name of a port town."

Link started to feel a bit shocked as he realized the pattern Stalflare was referring to. That had never even occurred to him.

"Hmm?" Link asked in surprise, "Well, I suppose that may have been part of the reason, but you see, Ruto was always the least humble of the sages, and she was the only one proud enough to accept having an entire town named after her."

"Proud… arrogant… capable in certain things…" observed Stalflare, slowly going over facts in his head, "She sounds not dissimilar from the other Zoras of Hyrule."

"Except they hate Hylians and she doesn't." Link replied sadly, though he didn't feel like talking any more about it as they continued towards the town to the south.

* * *

By the time the two defenders of Hyrule had approached the north gates of Ruto, they saw that the gates were already wide open. As soon as they stepped in between the massive stone structures, a young male Hylian, even younger than Link, ran up to the two of them, and announced, with beads of sweat cascading down his face, "Thank Din you're here, Link! The pirate ship is firing on us, and no matter what we try, it seems invulnerable to attack!"

"Then how do you suggest we defeat them?" Stalflare asked at once, looking very irritated with the boy, perhaps because of his pessimistic attitude, but more likely, he was genuinely concerned that their mission might be truly impossible for once. However, it seemed that the young man had been expecting a question like that, because he replied to it quickly.

"Well, none of our attacks have worked, but I think that's because we've only really been trying to damage their ship. If the pirate ship's been enchanted to withstand attacks somehow, then the best bet is to get onboard, and fight the pirates themselves, but it's really your call."

Link barely had to consider it for a moment. It was the best approach he could think of, but he wasn't sure how to go about getting on board the pirate ship.

"Do you have some way to get onboard?" Link asked, hoping that the young man could help him just a little more.

"I can think of one way right now." The young hylian said, "I have a goron friend named Banuni, who lives in the southern sections of town, and he's strong as an ox. I'll bet he could toss one of you right onto the deck of the ship if you asked him to. His area of town was one of the first hit, so I'm sure he'd love to be a part of it."

"He's not injured, is he?" Link asked, suddenly growing worried, but the hylian boy shook his head.

"Don't worry about that." The boy said, "He's fine, but there are a lot of other injured out there, and things aren't getting any better. We have to do something now, or the whole town'll be destroyed."

Link only had to think about it for a moment. It was, he realized, as good as any plan he could think of, and given how little time they had, he figured that they might as well go through with it.

"Alright." Link finally said, "If Banuni needs somebody to throw, he can throw me."

"Agreed." Stalflare said, looking cool and confident. Obviously, Stalflare's reason for not arguing with Link on that matter wasn't fear.

In moments after the decision had been made, Link and Stalflare were running towards the southeast side of Ruto, as cannonballs fell all around them. Before long, they could see the goron who must have been Banuni standing in the middle of a section of broken boards and crushed rubble, which, for all they knew, might have been the remains of his house. He certainly didn't look happy with those boards, and he was the only goron that either of them could see.

As Link and Stalflare rushed through the rubble, they saw that the goron was much taller than most. Link supposed him to be at least eight feet tall, and his rocky skin seemed to grind together when he spoke, as if his whole throat were made of granite.

"I've heard what you wanted of me." Banuni said in his grinding voice, looking absolutely determined, "Are you ready?"

It was entirely possible that Stalflare had never seen a goron before, because although he tried to remain impassive, it was evident to Link that the gerudo was in awe of the rocky man's size and stony appearance.

"I suppose I am," Link replied, then crouched down in preparation for the swift journey he had to make. With more speed than Stalflare would have given him credit for, Banuni lifted Link in one of his enormous, rocky hands, and sent him flying in the direction of the enemy ship. That time, Stalflare truly did gasp in awe. The goron's strength was unbelievable! Link was flung over a hundred yards through the air, and yet, he seemed perfectly at ease with this situation, and had both arms and legs outstretched, as he plummeted towards the deck of the pirate ship down below...

* * *

Seconds passed in free-fall as Link plummeted further towards the ship's deck, the wind whipping by him as he fell. At last, a mere 20 feet above the deck of the pirate ship, Link curled his body into a mid-air summersault, letting the moving air effect his speed of descent slightly, before uncurling and landing on the deck on all fours. Link's muscles yanked themselves downward one layer at a time, to soften his fall like a cat, and in the end, he got back up after the long trip through the air, his arms and legs only aching a little bit.

Shaking his sore hands and feet, Link stood back up and looked around. He was on the deck of the ship, with a locked door to the south, and another to the east, but there was also a man in heavy armor, and a long, yellow beard approaching him with an axe. The bearded man was obviously a pirate, but Link had never seen a pirate so well-armed.

Still, armed or otherwise, Link wasn't afraid. He'd fought a lot worse than pirates in his life, and the journeys that he'd been on had prepared him to face that situation. With ironclad boldness, Link spoke up to the pirate, determined to get his point across, as long as the pirate could understand his language.

"Listen to me." Link said, standing up to his full height, "Stop this right now! Why are you attacking Hyrule?"

However, the pirate replied to that with an ugly grin, and with obviously no intention of stopping, "I need not explain our reasons to the likes of you. Our glorious leader has commanded us to attack this land and plunder its treasures while our passengers are still on board."

"Then I need to speak to your leader immediately!" Link insisted, determined to get at the root of the matter as quickly as possible. However, the pirate still looked completely unwilling to cooperate.

"Harharhar!" the pirate exclaimed, letting out an annoying horse-laugh, as he brandished his weapon, "I guess you think you're pretty tough, but nobody talks to our glorious leader unless they go through me first. In fact, I'll bet my mates would probably feel the same way. If you're really that desperate to stop the ship, I'd say you've got quite a few fights on your hands."

Link felt pretty bad when he heard the pirate say that. He was obviously hylian or hylian-like, and that made what had to be done seem even more barbaric than it was, but if those pirates had really decided to oppose both Link and Hyrule, he knew he didn't have a choice. Still, he would have preferred not to kill any of them if he could help it, so he made a silent decision in the back of his mind.

"I'm sorry it had to be like this, but so be it." Link said sadly, "I'll stop you without using any of my weapons."

The pirate's eyes widened in distain when he heard that, and in just a moment, he was charging Link with his axe at top speed. However, Link still wasn't afraid, and soon, he'd removed his sword, shield, and the pouch in which he kept most of his weapons, and assumed a very ancient and effective fighting stance. He had to stop the pirates, and without killing them, if possible. The only way to do that for sure, though, was to attack them unarmed.

As the pirate charged, Link leapt into the air and vaulted over the smaller man's head, deflecting his first attack with a kick, and landing easily behind him. Link didn't make any real headway with that first move, but it gave him some time to analyze the weak points in the armor the man was wearing.

Link had never seen armor like that before. It was plainly enchanted, but the only weakness he could find was in the face itself, where the helmet exposed the eyes and nose.

Slowly, Link held up his left hand as the pirate charged him again, and when the pirate's axe headed towards him, Link stepped swiftly to one side, avoiding it, then grabbed it with his own left hand.

For a moment, neither moved, though the pirate seemed to be making some attempt to yank his axe free of Link's grip. Then, Link's left elbow shot out, and collided hard with the pirate's face. He felt the pirate's grip on the axe relax, and watched him slump to the floor with a crash a moment later. Obviously, the fight was over, and he was left standing over the unconscious body of the poor pirate, with a large, heavy axe clutched in one hand.

"He's a fairly strong fighter," Link thought to himself, rubbing his elbow, which felt just a little sore from the maneuver he'd just performed with it, "but not strong enough to have obtained that battle armor by force. He obviously got it as a gift, but I wonder who gave it to him, and why."

Tossing the axe into the sea, Link put his sword and shield into his bag, and put the bag into his tunic again, then continued through the door that the pirate had been guarding, hoping that all the fights with the other pirates would end that quickly.

* * *

In the ship's hold, Link fought a weak, young pirate, who had very few weapons, but as he progressed across the deck of the vessel, the enemies he fought became stronger and stronger. For the most part, their armor and weapons were the same, but as Link progressed through the ship, it was obvious that the training of some pirates had been more extensive than others. Some even required many punches to defeat, and when Link defeated two particularly large and strong ones at once, he couldn't help but wonder "What sort of terrible fiend could be commanding these warriors? What kind of man is strong enough to earn the respect and allegiance of so many powerful fighters?"

At last, the final door swung open, and Link entered the last section of the ship's deck, before reaching the passenger's cabin. As soon as he made it through the doors, however, and got a good look at their leader, Link could hardly believe his eyes... It couldn't be, but there was no denying it...

It was a woman.

She was no older than Link. She had a very severe tan, as though she'd spent all her life in the sun. Her facial features were very beautiful, almost to the point of being high-class, and her hair was long, and a beautiful blond color, but she was dressed in faded clothes, with a long, purple cloak that she seemed to have stolen from somewhere, since it was the only thing she had on that wasn't faded. In her right hand, she held a staff. Link could tell at once that both the cloak and staff were magical.

However, magic or no magic, woman or man, Link had a job to do. Quickly, he approached her, and spoke to her aloud.

"If you're the leader of these pirates, you need to stop your attack right now. I don't like having to hurt a woman, but I will, if you don't stop this."

When she heard his words, the young woman laughed at him derisively, however. She obviously had something to prove to him, because in a moment, she'd scoffed, "Fool! Women can do whatever we want to do. We're the stronger ones; the better ones. I've abandoned my natural instincts toward kindness, and I'm completely confident that if all other women did the same thing, we could rule all men in under a week. You're just being arrogant if you think you can stop me. No man I've ever met could overpower me."

At once, Link's thoughts returned to Zelda, Saria, and especially the gerudo. He recognized the womanly pride that the pirate captain had, and the strength she must have had in order to earn such respect among the pirates, and he remembered what the women in his life were capable of, but there was something about that young lady that was different from all of them; something that he couldn't just ignore.

"I understand perfectly well that women have the power to create and destroy," Link said, choosing his words carefully, "but I'm a defender of life in all its forms, and you've decided to kill people. Normally, I wouldn't fight a woman, but if you want to kill the innocent, I have to stop you. I don't have any choice but to fight you."

The pirate captain didn't seem about to argue with that. After all, she wasn't afraid of Link in the least. With an evil gleam in her eye, the young lady assumed a fighting stance, and in no time at all, the fight had begun.

With her staff tucked away in her belt, the young woman leapt high into the air with enormous speed and skill, and soon, Link had leapt into the air too. Suddenly, the woman spun around in mid-air, and threw a powerful kick directly at the Hero of Time's midsection.

With only a second to decide how to respond, Link lifted up his legs and kicked outward, swatting the young woman's leg backwards, and sending her careening to the other side of the ship, but just in time, she flipped over again, and landed sideways against one of the masts, jumping almost directly horizontally from there, to charge at Link again.

Once again, however, although her speed was almost unbelievable, Link landed, then jumped sideways out of her path. In response, she planted her feet on the ground, leapt after him, and started firing volleys of punches and kicks at him with lightning-fast speed. Her speed was so much like his own, in fact, that even he couldn't dodge all of the blows, but he did deflect most of them with the backs of his hands.

However, the pirate captain seemed to have realized just what she was up against by that point. In seconds, she'd drawn a scimitar from where it hung at her belt, and Link was forced into a defensive position. The long, curved blade shone in the sun, as his enemy whipped it around against him, as if it weighed less than a twig. The moment that Link saw that, he knew he couldn't keep blocking the same way he had been before. Blocking punches and kicks was one thing, but it wasn't so easy to block a sword, and considering how fast his enemy was moving, it was becoming difficult to get a hit in...

In the end, Link realized that he had to make a risky move. His enemy was moving so fast by that point, that if he made one slip, he'd probably be cut to ribbons, but if he didn't take a risk, he had no way to get under her guard.

Quickly, Link slid downward, and brought both feet up in different directions. It was a move that he'd needed to plan out considerably in advance, but it paid off. He slid easily out of reach of the sword's latest slice, then one of his feet knocked the sword from the young woman's grasp, and into the ocean, while the other caught her in the stomach, and sent her flying towards the other side of the ship again.

In a flash, Link was on his feet again, and prepared for a fresh strike, but as he looked at the young woman, he could see that all she was doing was standing in one place and staring at him. It surprised Link, but he didn't drop his guard. As he watched her, however, she yanked the magic staff from her belt, and Link began to get a bad feeling about that staff, and about what its owner was planning.

"You're the best fighter I've ever faced," the young woman muttered in something like awe, "and normally, I'd offer to let you be my first mate, but right now, I'm under orders. I'm sorry that you have to die."

Link's eyes narrowed in skepticism when he heard that. The pirate captain was definitely a good fighter, but when Link replied to her a moment later, there was still no fear in his voice.

"Do you still think your magic is strong enough to kill me, pirate leader?"

"Don't call me 'pirate leader.'" the young lady said in irritation, "I'm Tetra; Queen of the pirates, and the most ruthless warrior on the ocean."

"Tetra." Link thought to himself. It was a word meaning "four." He could only wonder why her parents had decided to name her that. It certainly wasn't the kind of name most people would give to their children.

Swiftly, Tetra turned a knob on the top of her staff, and it started to glow with some unnatural power, as she slowly swung it over her head in a wide arc, bringing it to bear against her enemy.

At once, the pirate captain was upon Link, swinging her weapon with an overhead swipe, in a smooth, rapid motion. Link leapt to the left to avoid it, and it was a good thing that he did, because no sooner had the staff collided with the hull of the ship, than the wood it had struck was eaten away before his very eyes; seeming to tear itself apart, and evaporate, as if it were nothing more than a mass of bubbles, vanishing on the edge of the sea.

"The orb at the end of my staff disintegrates anything it touches," Tetra said with an evil grin, "and soon, you won't be able to dodge my attacks anymore!"

With that announcement, Tetra gripped her cloak in one hand, and threw it back in a practiced flourish...

Then suddenly, she was gone.

Link felt a chill travel through him, as Tetra continued to use her magic from somewhere nearby. She was completely invisible, but he could still hear her voice; taunting him, and daring him to try and stop her...

"Am I to your left? To your right? Am I invisible, or am I really even here anymore? Maybe I'm just talking to you from a great distance away... or maybe I'm right in front of you!"

Link dove forward just in time. There was a sharp "CRACK" from behind him, and the deck boards in that location began disintegrating. He'd narrowly missed being hit by his enemy's staff that time, but with a weapon like that, even one attack could be lethal.

Link's eyes zipped back and forth, trying to track down his enemy as quickly as he could. Obviously, she was invisible, and worse, she'd stopped talking and taunting him. She also seemed to be skilled enough in the art of stealth, that he couldn't even hear her footsteps. He closed his eyes and concentrated, however.

After a few moments of intense concentration, Link leapt backwards, and heard the sound of disintegrating floorboards where he'd just been. Link had kept his eyes closed, and was concentrating on trying to hear his enemy, but it wasn't easy. She had a weakness, but it was hard to make use of it, even for someone with as much combat experience as the Hero of Time.

At last, a lingering hypothesis that had been bugging Link came to the surface, and he decided to act on it. With a sudden burst of motion, he rushed forward across the deck of the ship, and at once, he heard a sound very familiar to him by then. With a powerful leap, he soared to the right, landed in another section of the ship, reached behind himself, grabbed something that he found there, and yanked it as hard as he could!

Suddenly, Tetra was on the deck of the ship again, entirely visible, and entirely without her magic cloak. Her weapon had also fallen from her hand, and before she could get hold of it again, Link had kicked it way out of range. At once, the Hero of Time drove his fist downward, and Tetra, trying to dodge it, found Link's fist colliding directly with her throat!

Link gasped in shock as he drew back, but it was too late. Tetra was injured; maybe even critically. Still, she persisted in speaking to him, in spite of her weakening breath...

"How? How did you find me?"

Link could tell that Tetra was dying, and that asking any more questions about the fight was a waste of those final moments. Still, they were hers to waste, and under the circumstances, Link felt like he ought to honor her enough to give her the answer she was looking for.

"When one can't see the enemy, it's best to try to hear them instead."

"I made no noise!" Tetra gasped, "My technique was flawless! I..."

"It's true," Link said, "You made less noise than even my ears could detect, but I heard your motion by the rustling of your cloak, and your attacks by the sound made when your staff rushed through the air. Without your weapons, you would have made no noise at all, but then, I suppose your strength and weakness were the same thing in this fight."

"You're..." Tetra tried to gasp, but it was too late. Her lungs had given out on her, and she was breathing her last.

Slowly, Link walked past the dead pirate captain and bowed his head, pulling his sword from his bag. In just a moment, he'd driven it downward, directly into the upper deck boards, and began once more to recite the prayer of casualties; "May Nayru, immortal Goddess of Wisdom, founder of the laws by which all life forms are governed, forgive me for what I have been forced to do this day... May Din protect the fallen as they journey to their..."

However, before he could even finish, Link heard a noise behind him, as though a mass of flesh and bones were bending in ways it wasn't designed to, and as he turned to face the unearthly sounds, abandoning his ritual prematurely, he saw something that horrified him; not only because it was disgusting, but because it seemed also to represent a grave danger as well.

The flesh of the pirate leader was turning a sickly color of greenish-blue. Her bones looked like they were grating against one another, in an attempt, futile in some cases, to find their rightful place. Her muscles seemed to be disconnecting, and re-attaching themselves freely. She looked like nothing less than the body of a woman dead for years, yet rising to her feet, as though with a power of her own.

"What?" Link gasped in horror and confusion, "What's going on? How are you doing this?"

However, in a moment, Tetra spoke, and her words echoed, as though off far-away walls, yet they seemed almost whispered, though their volume didn't suffer for it. It was an unnatural tone of voice, and because of that, Link felt his spine suffering intense chills when he heard it...

"This isn't as simple as life or death, Hero of Time. Yes, I know who you are. It's part of the curse that I'm suffering from now. The curse consumed my people and my land, but I've been promised that it won't consume me. It doesn't want me... What it wants is... Hyrule..."

As the creature that had once been Tetra spoke, she seemed to start fading away before Link's very eyes, as though her flesh and bones were vanishing, and all that was left was the half-present image of what had come before. Horrified, but not afraid, Link boldly asked, "What? What are you saying? Is Hyrule being threatened by a deadly curse of some kind? Answer me!"

"That isn't for me to tell." Tetra replied in a pitiful sort of gasp, her voice seeming to fade, in almost the same way as her body, "The dark lord has discovered your existence. For now, it's my job to merely keep you busy, but I can't do that myself anymore. If I'm going to delay you any longer, I need the help of my passengers; the Ericsons. You may have beaten me, but that doesn't mean you've won."

As she said that, the spirit gravitated backwards, through the door to the passenger quarters. Before Link could take any action in response to that, however, the doors flew open, and out came two figures, clothed in dark colors, and obviously dangerous.

Link dropped his pack back into his tunic, as he gripped his sword tightly. Its indelible steel edge rotated in his hands as he watched the movements of his two new opponents very carefully.

Like Tetra, the first of Link's new enemies seemed to be a woman, but her skin was a strange shade of light purple, and like Tetra, she wore a long cloak, but as far as Link could tell, she didn't have any magic on her. She had a longbow, and a quiver of arrows slung across her torso, and her eyes seemed glazed over, as though out of what most people would consider focus, but she didn't seem to be carrying anything enchanted on her person, which, for some reason, Link didn't find any less worrying.

The other individual was a man on horseback. His skin color was the same as his partner's, who Link took to be his sister, but unlike her, he was riding on a steed of some kind. In reality, though, it looked almost nothing like a real, living steed. The creature was a mere skeleton, with a saddle attached to it, and it looked like the remains of a beast that half-resembled a horse, half a wolf. Also unlike his sister, the male Ericson had an aura of magic around himself, similar to the kind that all Hylians possessed. Link could only wonder what kind of strange magic he'd mastered, but he could tell from the man's build, and his weapon (a fairly long sword) that his preferred style of fighting was horseback swordsmanship.

Link gripped his weapon tighter as he studied his new opponents. They weren't hylians, but he didn't want to hurt them if it could be helped. As always, he decided to let the enemy make the first move, and hope they could be talked out of a fight.

"I see our employer predicted your actions well, Hero of Time." The male Ericson announced, looking grave as he circled around Link, "He knew you'd be able to vanquish Tetra and the others. What he didn't know was whether you'd be able to defeat us. It's my job to bring a report of your death, in order to give him that information. From what I've seen, though, your skill impresses me. I'll let you die on your feet, like a warrior."

"I don't want to die here," Link replied back, hoping that he might be able to disarm his new enemies with words, "and if you feel the same way, I encourage you to step aside. I have no problem with the two of you, that couldn't be resolved by a simple surrender."

"A tempting offer," the woman said, though from her tone of voice, she certainly didn't sound tempted, "but we're assassins, and we'll slay you for the payment we've been offered. If not, we'll die, and our reputation with us, if you think you can stop us with just a sword."

As the woman made that last remark, she started to grin a little. Obviously, she was completely confident in her skill, and had no intention of giving in. The battle would start in moments, and, Link realized, he had no way to prevent it.

For almost thirty seconds, the three fighters stood across from each other, observing one another carefully; trying to guage potential strengths and weaknesses, before the woman made the first move. In the blink of an eye, her bow was in her hands, and an arrow was flying towards Link. Until nearly the last moment, he stood perfectly still, waiting for the attack to reach him. Then, when the arrow was nearly on top of him, Link ducked to one side, out of its path, and was swept up in an explosion that rocked the ship from end to end.

Link probably would have been flung overboard by the force of the blast, except that fighting back the pain, he was able to grab hold of the main mast, and prevent himself from flying too far as the explosion died away.

Of course, Link knew what had happened at once, just as surely as he felt the searing pain in his back from the blast. The arrows were loaded with some kind of small bombs, which exploded when they hit something solid. That was going to be tough to deal with, especially since Link was wounded, and he still had no idea what his other foe was capable of.

His other foe! Ignoring the pain in his back, Link leapt into the air, and vaulted clear over the head of his second enemy, who'd been charging at him with his sword outstretched! However, as Link plunged back towards the deck, he found that the man had changed course, his skeletal steed responding with pinpoint precision, and in seconds, the man was sitting almost directly underneath Link, with his sword pointing upwards!

With less than a second to think of what to do next, Link muttered a spell under his breath, and landed on the sword, being knocked aside extremely roughly. Then, as though to eliminate all doubt, another arrow collided with Link's chest, and the explosion could be heard all across the shores of Ruto.

Slowly, the female Ericson began to sling her bow back across her torso, when suddenly, impossibly, Link leapt from the smoke and debris, and let fly with a volley of sword strikes from multiple directions! She had less than a second to plan an appropriate defense!

Even so, the lady was skilled enough that she was able to deflect most of Link's attacks with the gilded ends of her bow. In fact, any attack that would have been lethal had been deflected harmlessly by her weapon. By the time Link had finished his assault, she'd escaped with only a few minor flesh wounds to her shoulders and legs, and as Link landed behind her, she spun around, following him carefully, and reached for another arrow...

"What!" she shrieked in panic, groping around behind her back for her arrows, but finding nothing, "Where are..."

Then, with a look of burning hatred, the female Ericson glared at Link, and in response, he held up her quiver of arrows, the strap having been cut in two by his sword during their last exchange. With a quick flip of Link's wrist, the tiny arsenal was sent plunging to the bottom of the ocean, out of reach of the young assassin.

It seemed like the perfect moment for Link to strike and finish her off, so naturally, he did just the opposite; leaping off to one side, as the male Ericson charged past him, his last attack having failed.

"Nayru's Love" was a spell that Link had gotten a long time ago. It was exhausting to the caster, but it could protect him from all harm for at least a moment or two, and in the case of the exploding arrow, and the sword of his enemy, it was all he'd needed to get the drop on them. However, the spell had worn off by that point, and he didn't have the energy to cast another one. That time, he was on his own.

Besides, the male Ericson still had some kind of magic, which he hadn't even revealed up to that point.

It soon became apparent just what that magic was. Seeing Link disarm his sister of her arrows, the man had decided that he definitely needed to use all of his powers against Link if he even wanted to have a prayer for victory.

In moments, the male Ericson's sword had begun to glow with some incredible power, and soon, Link was running again. The deck of the ship vibrated, almost as though caught in an earthquake, as Link's feet collided with them more rapidly than any other Hylian, but the skeletal horse was still gaining on him. At last, the man fired off a blast of light from his weapon, and it would have hit Link, if he hadn't ducked to one side.

As Link watched the beast rotate for another pass, he looked at the damage made by the beam. To his surprise, the marks that the male Ericson's beam attack had left behind didn't look as if they'd been made by energy, but by a sword, hurled into the boards! When he saw that, Link immediately realized that getting hit by that attack would have been enough to kill him.

Once again, the beast-riding Ericson charged, and once again, Link dodged it, that time by sliding under his enemy's mount as it passed by, then squirming to his feet, but as he stood, he felt the wood of the woman's bow press against the front of his neck. Link's eyes darted backward, and he could see that the female Ericson had grabbed him from behind, by sliding her bow over his head and pulling it backwards, against his throat. She seemed less like she was trying to choke him, however, and more as if her aim was to hold him steady, while her brother charged in for one last attack.

"I don't know how you survived my last arrow." she barked furiously, "But you won't dodge my brother's next attack."

A million options were considered and discarded by Link in that moment, with lightning speed, as he realized that she was absolutely right. There was no way of shrugging her off, and dodging the next attack completely.

"So I won't dodge." Link decided, his expression hardening. He'd made another grave decision, and although someone was likely to die very soon, he knew that it was the only way for him to win.

Reaching behind his back, Link grabbed the female Ericson by the shoulder blades, and in one swift motion, picked her up, pulling her over his head, and into the path of the charging warrior and his sword beams. Her back was riddled with sword-wounds, but Link couldn't tell whether she was alive or not, nor did he have the time to worry about it. With another quick maneuver, he'd charged up to the male Ericson with the body of his sister held in front of him as a makeshift shield, and when he was close enough, he threw her directly at her brother.

The number of ways that Link could have claimed victory at that moment were virtually limitless, but instead, he chose to step back for a moment, as the two of them fell from atop the brother's "steed," and once he'd put some distance between himself and the Ericsons, Link calmly said one last word.

"Surrender."

Even as he said that word, however, it became evident to Link that the female Ericson was dead. He could see that as he'd flung her at her brother. The other Ericson had driven his sword directly into her chest. Her blood was all over him, and he was struggling to get to his feet, clear fury in every motion he made. Obviously, Link realized sadly, the male Ericson wasn't going to surrender. In fact, the professional, if twisted motives he'd had before were gone. At that point, all he wanted was revenge.

"You're dead!" the remaining Ericson exclaimed, holding up his weapon, and leaving the remains of his steed behind. Soon, the male Ericson had charged at Link with his weapon at the ready. The whole thing only made Link feel worse, but he readied his own sword, and charged forward at his remaining enemy. As the two approached each another, their weapons darted out at one another, and in a flash, it was all over.

Link stumbled a bit from a wound in the side of his leg. It was, in the end, only a flesh wound though. The male Ericson wasn't so lucky. His sword arm had been severed completely from his body, and he was gradually bleeding to death.

"He's too used to horseback combat." Link realized silently, as he slowly put his sword away, and headed for the ship's wheel, "He aims too low in a swordfight."

However, as the battle ended, and Link claimed control of the vessel, he wasn't relieved by what had happened. He didn't even think the worst was over, really. He was eager to find a potion shop and get a remedy for his wounds, but in reality, he was more worried than ever. He'd claimed control of the pirate ship, but the words of Tetra still haunted him. Curses, after all, were serious things.

* * *

The whole time that Link was steering the ship closer to shore, all he could think about was Tetra's comments about the curse, and all he could feel was concern for his homeland. At last, he steered the ship further and further towards the shore, and ran it solidly aground, dashing its hull to pieces on the rocks. He could feel the water rushing into the bottom of the ship, and the vessel itself tilting backwards in response, so at once, he leapt over the side, and swam to shore.

Once Link was back on dry land, he could see Stalflare and Banuni waiting for him. Banuni was smiling at him, in an almost arrogant kind of way, as though he'd won a bet. Stalflare, however, was simply staring in awe.

As Link got to shore, he yanked his equipment back out of his bag, and put it on. Then, he slowly walked up to his two allies, doing his best to ignore the pain he was still feeling, and that was when he spoke to them again, but his words were certainly not what either of them had been expecting to hear.

"We have to get back to Hyrule right now."

Naturally, the urgency of the comment was surprising to Stalflare, who'd rarely been faced with a victory that demanded it. In just a moment, the wizard's brow started to furrow, and he replied to Link with deep concern.

"What? But we won. We should be celebrating now. Is there a new threat?"

Link had to think about that for a moment, but he just didn't have enough information to give Stalflare a definite answer about that.

"Maybe." Link eventually replied, "We'll find out when we get back. Apparently, there's some kind of curse, and it might be too late to prevent it already. I need to investigate this before I'll be satisfied."

Stalflare's eyes narrowed as he heard Link speaking, but obviously, he wasn't going to abandon the Hero of Time while there were still problems that they needed to resolve.

"I hadn't expected this," Stalflare remarked in intense consternation, "but very well. You lead on. I'll follow you."

A moment later, with all the speed that they could muster, the two rushed to the north; back towards Hyrule, while the other pirates, having washed up on shore, were being gradually imprisoned by the Ruto guards.

* * *

Never tiring as they ran with great speed, Link and Stalflare returned to Hyrule the way they'd come, across the fields to the north, over the path through the mountains, until they reached the southern edge of Lake Hylia. It was a long trek, and the dread that Link felt the whole way back only made it seem longer, but they did eventually arrive, and when they'd reached the edge of the lake, it was Stalflare who was the first to speak...

"I'm not as familiar with the outer reaches of Hyrule as you are, but it looks like we're back."

"Yes," Link replied, though his worried expression didn't even begin to fade, "and so far, I can't see what could be wrong with..."

However, Link's words, and in fact, the thought that bore them were immediately filed away in the back of his mind. His far-ranging eyesight had picked out two figures he recognized, rushing towards him with all the speed they were capable of; which, for each of them, was a considerable amount.

One of the figures was the messenger known as Nalabal, who worked for Princess Zelda. She had to be fast, because sometimes, she was called upon to get letters and other messages from one section of Hyrule to another in a huge hurry. Still, she was by no means as fast as the other figure, who ran just a short distance in front of her.

Epona was the fastest and most wild horse in all of Hyrule, and she belonged to Link. Link could deduce at once why Nalabal wasn't riding Epona. Even in times of trouble, the horse could be awfully choosy about who rode her, but obviously, the two of them were in enough danger that they had no objections to working together, side by side.

It was hard to tell with Epona, but Nalabal was definitely out of breath, and almost in a panic. It was just as Link had feared. Something had happened to Hyrule; something so horrible, that it was enough to terrify a grown woman, almost beyond the point of reason.

As soon as Nalabal stood before Link, and had caught her breath, she started explaining the situation eagerly, however. Obviously, things were bad enough, that she had no desire to hide the problem from Link.

"Link, you need to listen to me. After you left, dark clouds came in from the sea, blotting out the sun, and now, Hyrule is being overrun by a plague of the dead. I'm the only one left! They've taken everyone else."

Link was shocked and horrified when he heard that. Worse news than that would have been hard to imagine.

"What?" Link asked in shock and terror, "But what about Zelda? The sages? The guardian spirits?"

Nalabal shook her head so furiously, that tears flew from her eyes in all directions, but she eventually replied to Link's question, though she seemed to be fighting back open sobs with every word she spoke.

"All I know is that Princess Zelda and the guards of the castle were the first ones killed, and they were killing the townsfolk when I ran away from them. I tried to get help from the Zora and the Gerudo, but there were undead hoards blocking the way. I couldn't even get close to them."

"No." Link muttered aloud, but his voice trailed off at that point, because he couldn't think of anything else to say.

For several moments after that, no one said anything else. Things had gone from bad to worse.

* * *

Note: This chapter covers parts 1-4 in the original format.


	2. P1 Ch2 From Bad to Worse

Note: If you started reading in the original format, look to the bottom of the chapter for a guide on how to find where you left off.

* * *

Chapter 2: From Bad to Worse

* * *

Naturally, after what Nalabal had just said, everyone was feeling a little shocked, but someone had to break the silence eventually, and in the end, it wound up being Stalflare; his frustration and quick temper bringing his words to the surface first.

"I don't believe this! How could Hyrule be overrun so quickly? How could the dead possibly summon the power to defeat the living? I've seen and summoned stalfos before, and they're nowhere near that powerful!"

"They'd found a means of using magic." Nalabal quickly explained, though she was starting to look sheepish, "We were forced to fight immortal creatures that we couldn't defeat. We were helpless."

"What about Gerudo Valley?" Stalflare asked, fearing for his people, "Has it been destroyed too?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure." Nalabal replied sadly, looking at the ground as she answered the wizard's questions, "I couldn't get close enough to contact the gerudo, but it wouldn't surprise me at all."

However, just as Nalabal was responding to Stalflare's hurried interrogations, they both noticed something that cause them to turn and look at Link in alarm. Link had always seemed calm and pleasant to both of them, but when they looked into his face just then, it was like staring into a tornado. His anger was so intense, that they could practically feel it radiating into their own bodies; their own souls. It was the first time that either one had seen him lose control of his feelings, even for a short time, and it was frightening to watch.

Link almost seemed to growl, before taking a deep breath, and putting both hands on his sword hilt. That seemed to give him some comfort, because in a moment, his breathing had returned to normal, and he closed both of his eyes. Soon, he was speaking aloud again, but he seemed more as if he were reciting some well-memorized pledge, rather than actually speaking his mind.

"I've always found a way to save my people from everything that could harm them. Even if they're all dead, I'll find a way to save them!"

With those words, Link opened his eyes again, and Stalflare could see that the rage was gone; at least for the moment. Link's stern expression had returned, but the mindless anger that he'd been feeling a few moments ago had dissipated. The Hero of Time was definitely far from happy over what had happened, but he was at least docile, for the moment.

"Save... the dead?" Stalflare was surprised by the very concept. In his land, such things were the stuff of fairy tales, and old legends of powerful magiks beyond the ken of Gerudo-kind. He'd never been taught to believe that it was possible to restore the dead to life, since almost as far back as he could remember. Still, for the moment, Link chose to ignore the sorceror's question, and began by planning his next move.

"Our first task has to be to rid Hyrule of the undead." Link said, looking understandably grave, "Otherwise, our people will be right back where they started; facing hopeless odds. Once we deal with the undead, we can find a way to free our friends and families."

By that point, however, Stalflare had heard enough. If he was going to trust his life to that hylian boy, he wanted to make sure that the Hero of Time didn't have his head in the clouds.

"You're talking nonsense, Link. Death isn't a prison; it's death. You can't just free people who've been killed, and it's pure insanity to think otherwise."

Stalflare had half expected Link to get angry again, when he was confronted like that, but much to his surprise, the one who got angry was Nalabal.

"Stop it!" Nalabal exclaimed, turning to face Stalflare with a furious expression on her face, "Link knows what he's talking about. We've all seen the dead brought back to life. It is possible."

They'd seen it? Stalflare could hardly believe that. In fact, he quickly realized, he couldn't believe it without seeing it for himself, and he made sure to voice that, along with his latest concern.

"I'll believe that when I see it, but if we're facing an enemy that's as strong as you say, we need all the information you can give us about them before we do anything else."

That comment seemed to have embarrassed Nalabal a little, and Stalflare could see some guilt in her expression too, as she rushed to tell them about everything she'd seen up to that point.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I don't know much about them; only that there are creatures all over Hyrule that resemble redead. I also saw a bunch of unusual undead talking to one another. I think they might have been generals or something. The redead-things seemed to treat them with great respect."

That was the part that interested Link, because he suspected that he might need to come into conflict with those undead leaders at some future time, so he quickly asked for clarification.

"What can you tell us about these rulers of the undead?" Link asked, surprisingly-calmly.

"Well," Nalabal began, "one of them seemed to be the leader. He had a huge cape, with long shoulders on it, and he was dressed all in black. He had long, blond hair, and glowing eyes. The second one didn't even look undead, but he was obviously one of them. He wore a long robe, like a mage."

"The third one was a giant; bigger than most gorons." Nalabal continued, reciting all the particulars she could recall, "He looked like he was sort of stitched together from the bodies of a whole lot of undead, and he crackled with electricity. Then there was one who looked like a stalfo, glowing with magic power."

"There were also three others. One was sort of a female ghost; one was riding a skeletal horse, and the last one looked like some kind of horned octorok. It wore a cloak, which was divided into 8 sections, and they all seemed to be moving with a life of their own."

As Nalabal finished her descriptions, Link's careful mind ran over the facts again and again, trying to deduce something fresh from the evidence. In the end, however, Stalflare disrupted his train of thought, when he made a curious observation...

"They don't sound aesthetically pleasing at all."

It was such an understatement, that Link almost smiled, though he couldn't really bring himself to feel amused by anything, after what he'd just heard.

"Yeah." Link said in reply, "But from the looks of things, we'll still need to face them. I just hope they're less powerful than they sound."

There was no reply to that comment, of course. Until they had more information, no reply was really possible. Because of that, there was no reason for Link to hesitate any longer. In just moments, he'd crossed the bridge over Lake Hylia, and scrambled up the hills on the other side, until he could see large sections of Hyrule Field, spreading out in front of him. However, what he saw in that field filled him with horror.

In moments, Nalabal had caught up with Link, followed by Stalflare, and although each could see what Link was seeing, only Stalflare had the strength to speak.

"Link..." Stalflare muttered, with the tone of someone searching for validation of what his own senses were telling him.

"I see them." Link replied, slightly more composed than his companions. From what he could see, Nalabal hadn't been exaggerating at all. There were undead all over Hyrule field. Even the normal monsters of Hyrule had been transformed. Link could see peahats from where he was, but the plague of death had had a strange effect on them. They seemed to have an odd kind of mossy growth all over them, and their leaves were wilted and brown, even though it wasn't autumn yet. The sight was spooky and unpleasant to Link, because it was only a symbol of what had happened to Hyrule.

Sure enough, redead and stalfos had spread across the field; armed and looking around, as if eager for some kind of enemy to fight. It was horrifying.

After a few seconds, Stalflare took a cue from his companion, and remarked "We've got to do something about this..."

"If we're going to make war against them," Link began, the strategic wheels in his head starting to turn full-speed, "we have to establish a power base here in Hyrule Field, and I know just how to do it. We can rid both Hyrule Field and Lon Lon Ranch of undead, then use the ranch as our base of operations."

"Agreed." Stalflare replied sullenly, "I just hope I don't have to slay anyone I know."

It didn't seem as if the plan was going to go that easily, however. As Link and the others dashed across Hyrule field, towards the central ranch of Hyrule, they began encountering undead. First, it was mainly stalfos, then some skeletal moblins further to the east. At last, the group arrived at Lon Lon Ranch, cutting their way through several redeads, that had been trying to block their way.

When they got to the ranch, however, and passed in between the supports of the wall that surrounded it, Link saw something that made his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. In the center of the ranch, surrounded by five horse-like beasts, with sharp bones protruding from their shoulders, was a grotesque mockery of someone Link had once known. Her blue dress was intact, but her head had become skeletal and lifeless, and there was no trace of the person she'd been in her face or expression. For a moment, Link wasn't sure how he was going to deal with that, but he knew what he had to do, even if it was painful. The creature standing in front of him wasn't his friend, no matter what she looked like.

The beasts shuddered as they fell under Link's sword, each collapsing from either a leg or back injury. Link could see that they were starting get up again after his first attack, however, so his sword shot out and whipped around one more time. In less than thirty seconds, the undead horses were done for, their heads no longer attached to their bodies. Then, in another swift motion, an arrow of light lodged itself in the chest of Link's remaining opponent, and she fell to the ground, motionless.

At once, a hundred thoughts flew through Link's head; thoughts about what he was doing and why, but his soul-searching in matters like that had been finished years before. He was at the end of a very long journey of self-discovery, and there was no doubt that what he'd done there had been necessary.

As Stalflare, Nalabal and Epona entered what was left of the ranch, and began surveying the remains of the fallen undead, Link spoke to them in a voice that was loud and confident...

"There. It's done. Now, we have to start clearing away these fences, and rebuild those walls. Nalabal, you should also help with this."

For a few seconds, Nalabal said nothing, but at last, with a sad look in her eyes, she gave a little bow, and replied, "Very well, sir."

In moments, Link began to yank up the fences that surrounded the area they were in, hurling them over the mountains to the south, a feat made possible by his golden gauntlets of strength, but it wasn't any physical feat of strength that had really amazed Stalflare, and a moment later, he approached the Hero of Time.

"You amaze me, hero." Stalflare remarked, looking a little distrustful of his companion, "You've just slain Malon, who, I believe, was one of your friends, yet you remain perfectly calm."

Link's reply to that came very quickly, however. Obviously, he'd been expecting a question like that one.

"That thing wasn't Malon. It was using her body, but it wasn't her. It's possible to resurrect someone, even without access to their body. In this case, it's easier. As for my attitude, it's sometimes necessary to be guided by wits, rather than feelings on the path of a hero."

"Words of wisdom." Stalflare replied with a slight grin, "Are you certain you're not a Gerudo?"

However, Link didn't bother replying to that question. He simply yanked up another section of fence, a moment later. After all, they still had a long, hard task ahead of them.

* * *

That night, as the sun had begun to set, Link and Stalflare sat on either side of a small fire. Epona was standing nearby, and Nalabal was off near one of the walls they'd spent all day rebuilding, most likely finishing some work of her own. Meanwhile, the fire in the middle of their makeshift base flickered in reflections off of Epona's saddle-buckles, as Stalflare looked up at Link from across the blaze, preparing for another attempt to get answers out of him. Obviously, Link had some kind of plan, but it was hard to tell what he was thinking, because Link seemed to have been sitting on nearly all of his real feelings since they'd first arrived in the ranch.

"Link..." Stalflare spoke up at last, his irritation seeming to fade for the first time that day, "I feel like I need answers, and yet, I'm not sure what kinds of questions to ask. I know people look up to you, as the hero of the entire kingdom, but I honestly know very little about you. I'm puzzled by the way you seem to be thinking, and your reactions puzzle me even more. After a horrible turn of events, we're camping here, in the remains of Lon Lon Ranch, and you have no kingdom, no friends, no plans..."

"Actually," Link replied, with something that looked like it might almost be a grin, "I do have a plan."

"Already?" Stalflare was both surprised and impressed to hear that, though he still didn't really believe what Link was saying, "What sort of plan?"

"Our first stop is Kokiri forest." Link began, "We have to rally the fairies. Since fairies are immortal, the spell of the dead wouldn't have any effect on them, and if there are no Kokiri left, they're our best advantage."

However, Stalflare started to feel worried when Link said that. He knew that Link had grown up in the forest, and suspected that he might have had some additional motive for wanting to stop there first, but regardless, he knew it would be better if he gave Link a chance to explain himself, before passing judgment on him too quickly.

"Why the fairies and Kokiri?" Stalflare asked, hoping for a reason that would impress him. In that respect, however, he wasn't disappointed.

"Because fairies never die," Link explained, patiently enough, "and Kokiri leave no bodies if they're slain. Therefore, neither of them could be used by the undead. If we can get to the Kokiri in time, we might be able to save some of them, and we should also be able to get the fairies to help us."

Stalflare was so intrigued by the plain good sense of Link's plan, that he very nearly whistled in amazement.

"That's quite a plan. I can't even argue with that." Stalflare admitted, both of his eyebrows raising in astonishment, "We should set out first thing in the morning, if not earlier. The longer we wait, the more time the enemy will have to hunt down the remaining people of Hyrule"

However, just as he was saying that, Nalabal walked up to them, and sat down near the fire, opposite the others.

"The wall's all repaired!" she announced, looking out of breath, but also pleased with herself, and Stalflare was impressed to see that. In the midst of such a bad situation, it was really impressive that ordinary work could still make people feel good about their lives.

"Already?" Stalflare asked in surprise. He'd never heard of anyone repairing a wall so fast. "You must have mastered some magic yourself."

Nalabal blushed slightly, though it didn't stop her from giving Stalflare a look that seemed to say "you should know that much."

"That's one of the reasons why Hyrule is such a good place to grow up." she remarked aloud with something close to a smile, "Everyone knows a little something useful, whether it's construction, farming, animal care... Magic comes in many forms."

"It does indeed." Stalflare observed, looking away with a scowl. Nalabal was obviously still smiling, her thoughts on all the work she'd managed to accomplish, but Stalflare was much more of a pessimist than she was, and when they discussed magic, all that he could think about was the undead. It was frustrating and nerve-wracking, but that was the way it was.

However, as the hylian messenger and the gerudo wizard talked with each other, Link seemed to have spent most of that time in thought, stroking his chin nervously, as he considered a number of things in his head. Finally, when he spoke, it was obvious that he was still pondering his plan to save Hyrule.

"I've been giving this some thought," Link said again, "and I think... I think we shouldn't leave anyone behind, when we head out on our expedition tomorrow. Both Nalabal and Epona should come with us."

The conclusion was sensible enough that no one argued with it, and besides, they were all feeling very tired. The sun was starting to sink the rest of the way over the horizon, and for a while, the only visible lights were the light of the moon, the stars, and the campfire in front of them. Still, those lights were dim enough, that in spite of the danger and tragedy they'd faced that day, none of them had much trouble getting to sleep.

* * *

Note: This chapter covers part 5 in the original format.


	3. P1 Ch3 The Kokiri Forest Coup

Note: If you started reading in the original format, look to the bottom of the chapter for a guide on how to find where you left off.

* * *

Chapter 3: The Kokiri Forest Coup

* * *

The next day, Link and his friends woke up almost simultaneously, and immediately started out for Kokiri Forest, leaving most of their provisions behind. Link had his weapons, and Stalflare his cloak and staff, but mostly all they had were their clothes. However, when their path finally took them to the log tunnel, which led into Kokiri Forest, Link paused at the large, wooden bridge, on the forest's edge to think in silence. His nostrils took in the fresh, forest air, still smelling of all the same types of vegetation as always, and that scent of life probably should have been a good sign, but all that was on Link's mind were his worries, and Nalabal, at least, seemed to have realized that.

Soon, Nalabal had spoken up, asking "What's wrong, Link?"

"I... I mean..." Link stammered slowly, looking almost nervous for the first time in days as he pondered his own feelings over the land beyond that point, "For the first 10 years of my life..."

At first, Link felt like it might even be prudent to tell his companions the whole story about his history with the kokiri, but in the end, he thought better of it, and simply said, "Never mind. It's not important. Let's go."

In another second, Link had put one foot on the long, wooden bridge, leading into the forest, but almost the very moment that the sole of his boot touched the wooden planks, Link heard a voice that seemed almost to be coming from all around him.

"Yes; but where are you going to go, child of the forest?"

"What?" Link exclaimed, looking carefully around for any sign of the speaker, and as he did so, there was a great wind. It seemed to have blow right through the forest, causing the branches to sway, and the leaves to rustle, and when it finally died down, there was a mounted rider at the other end of the bridge. The rider had appeared, as if from nowhere, seemingly through sheer speed, and Link knew at once, that he was one of the undead leaders, and that it was his speed, rather than the local weather, that had caused that recent gust of wind.

For a moment, Link just stared at the rider, trying to form some guess about his origins, or what kind of a fighter he was. Perhaps he'd been a druid or nature wizard in life, because he held a staff made from vines in one hand, and he rode a skeletal steed; not unlike the kind that the male Ericson aboard the pirate ship had been using. He spoke in an accent entirely foreign to Hyrule, but the important thing was that Link had no difficulty understanding his words at all. For the moment, however, it was Link's words that drifted into the air, because he was eager to talk to the new arrival.

"That's impressive. Most people can't just appear that quickly."

The man bowed his head in response, and Link could see that sections of his face had turned purple in death. The man's bow betrayed a spirit that was calm and careful, yet willing to accept compliments graciously and humbly. On the whole, he seemed like a generally well-balanced person. Link could hardly believe that the undead had turned such a man to the forces of evil.

"Like all things," the man explained calmly, "swift motion is a simple matter, when one understands how to do it."

To anyone else, that comment might have been taken merely at face value, but Link could tell that that man meant more with his words than simply what was said.

"You know the secrets of my horse, then." Link accurately concluded, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Clearly, his new opponent wasn't like other undead. There was an intelligent, crafty air about him, in spite of the fact that he wasn't even alive anymore.

"I know the secrets of all the beasts who aren't allowed conscious thought." the man replied dispassionately, "Everything about nature is an open book to me. That's how it was for me in my life, and in death, I exist only to use my knowledge of nature to make it what it needs to be for our legion..."

However, at that point, Link's expression had grown even sterner, because his suspicions about that man had just been confirmed.

"Then you don't know a thing." the Hero of Time replied, "Changing the order of nature always leads to death."

"I embrace death," the man simply replied, with something that almost looked like a shrug, "and so should you. For those who accept our legion, death has no finality; no grasp. It can't claim you once we have."

"I'd rather die than be a part of whatever you are." Link exclaimed with conviction, his gaze not wavering in the slightest, "You're unnatural."

However, it seemed that that comment had upset the rider quite a bit, because his mouth had curled into a deep frown, and in moments, he'd started to shout in absolute fury.

"You're a weak-minded fool! You have no idea what nature is!" the man exclaimed, his temper flaring up for the first time, before he managed to get it back under control, and calmed down a bit, " Never mind, though. It doesn't matter what you think. I've claimed this forest as my own. In time, we'll root out the rebels, and no one will escape us, but you'll be the first to die. If you think your speed is enough to match mine, follow me to the Temple of the Forest..."

Then, once again, the rider vanished in a blur, causing a sharp wind to shake the branches of the nearby trees, and Link could hear his words, once again seeming to come from everywhere at once.

"Follow me."

Link didn't move in response to that voice, however. The wind died down. and the branches of the trees started to sway more and more slowly, but he still stayed right where he was, with one foot on the thick, wooden bridge into the forest, obviously lost in though.

However, in a few moments, Stalflare and Nalabal started to approach Link from behind, and each of them obviously had their own thoughts to voice. Stalflare seemed to realize that Link was calculating the odds in his head, while Nalabal was worried that Link might be thinking of retreating from that obviously-dangerous enemy they'd just seen. However, she didn't need to have worried about that, because when Link finally spoke, it became obvious that the last thought that would have crossed his mind was a retreat...

"We can't leave the forest without defeating him." Link said aloud to his three companions, sounding very somber and determined, "But our first priority has to be the survivors. We have to rescue them. There are fairies and kokiri in this forest, and I'm sure they could both give us a lot of help. This might be the only chance we have to get a handhold into Hyrule again."

"But you saw how fast he moved!" Nalabal exclaimed, worry lacing every word, "Do you think you can match that?"

However, at that moment, Link turned to face Nalabal, and a confident smile crossed his face for the first time since he'd returned to Hyrule, as though he'd just been asked the answer to a simple mathematical problem.

"I'm sure of it." Link said with perfect self-assuredness, "Epona and I share a secret; you might even call it a rapport. Whenever she's around, I can tell, and it gives me the strength to run faster. In fact, with Epona here, my speed is almost as great as hers."

"Well," muttered Stalflare from behind them, sounding skeptical as the group proceeded through the log tunnel, and into the forest, "we'll just see."

* * *

In only a few seconds, Link and the others had crossed the bridge, and entered Kokiri Forest, but almost as soon as they'd stepped off the bridge, and through the second log tunnel into the main body of the woods, they found themselves under attack by many small trees, which had succumbed to the power of the undead spell, and were attacking those around them. A few undead bears also got in their way, as they approached the houses of the kokiri themselves, but none of them were powerful enough to defeat Link or Stalflare, who wielded both magic and their weapons expertly, and soon found the enemies falling away from them, helpless to stop them.

As Link and his companions passed by house after house, the kokiri began to reveal themselves, stepping forth from the shadows, and screaming in joy; shouting things like "Look! Link's here!" or "Link! We're saved!"

On the whole, Link hadn't expected to find anyone in his own house, but the footprints leading up to it suggested that three Kokiri were in there. Sure enough, two small Kokiri revealed themselves as he approached, and behind them came an old associate of Link's; someone he had a good reason to hate, but somehow, simply didn't.

"Oh, Link!" commented Mido, with a slight tone of nervousness to his voice, "I was hoping you'd show up. Thought I'd hold up in your house to pay you back for that joke you played on me a couple years ago. It wasn't nice of you to not tell me who you were after all that time."

Link smiled at the simple way that Mido saw things. Still, maybe Mido's simple-mindedness was the reason Link didn't hate him anymore.

"I suppose that's fair," Link replied, finally smiling again, "but we'll have to save the explanations for later. Right now, the important thing is getting all of you out of here. I don't think you'll be able to survive in this forest."

Link continued wandering through the forest like that, until he'd found nearly all of the missing kokiri, but at that point, he spoke to them all in a loud voice, doing his best to get their attention; "Everyone listen to me! I want you all to go to the bridge in the lost woods, except for Stalflare, and maybe Nalabal. I'm well aware that you all have the power to journey outside the forest, and I need you to get as close to the forest exit as possible. For now, you should be safe there. I still have to search for the fairies and Saria, though."

Naturally, the Kokiri did precisely as Link had told them to, but as he watched them go, he had to admit that it didn't make him feel much better at all. If anything, his heart was filling with even more worry, as he rushed towards the Deku Tree's meadow to look for Saria. She was the only one he hadn't been able to find, and that really scared him.

Link suspected that Saria would have tried to act as the forest's champion in his absence, and he knew how dangerous that course of action was. If she hadn't gotten herself killed, she must have at least been in terrible danger, and although he'd never confessed it to her aloud, Link still loved Saria. A perilous situation like that would have been enough to worry anybody.

As he approached the Deku Tree's Meadow, however, Link's far-ranging eyesight picked out something he'd hoped desperately not to have to see. The moment Link saw that horrible vision, he knew that his worst fears had just been validated...

"Great Deku Tree..." Link muttered under his breath, "Oh, no..."

What he saw before him wasn't the Great Deku Tree he'd known for so many years. It was what looked like an empty shell, with branches shaped like claws, and burn-marks all over it, and in its eyes was a glow that seemed almost fiery. Link knew at once that the Deku Tree had been conquered by the dead, and somehow joined their ranks. The very source of the Kokiri Forest's life had been overpowered by the forces of death.

"I should have known they'd go after you first." Link said aloud, getting the Deku Tree's attention, and causing the enormous tree's face to turn towards him slightly, with a ponderous, creaking noise.

"Go after me?" the Deku Tree asked quizzically, and yet, his expression contained an unnatural kind of spite, that Link had never seen on those huge, wooden features before, "They barely had to touch me. I hardly resisted them at all."

"What?" Link almost gasped, unable to believe that for a moment.

"The offer they made was a hard one to refuse, Link." the Deku Tree explained with a look of wistfulness, "My life, in exchange for all of eternity. My father; the first Deku Tree died from a curse. I'll never fall victim to that now."

"Don't tell me you accepted their offer!" Link exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"No." the Deku Tree replied, "I was too foolish to do that, but I considered it. Their offer was good enough, that it gave me pause. To think of myself dying, the way my father did... It was terrible to think about. That thought distracted me. Because of that, I fell before them."

"All the same," the Deku Tree continued, with a cold sort of distance in his voice, "although I didn't accept their gift at first, if I had the chance to do it over, I would. Death itself is painful if you struggle, but you can't know how it feels to be eternal, the way I am. Every moment I exist like this is ecstasy."

All that time, Link's face had been turning redder and redder, but at last, he seemed about to lose his temper with the enormous being, and exclaimed, "The Deku Tree I know would never forfeit his love of the natural order for personal pleasure."

"The Deku Tree you know is dead," the monstrous tree said with an evil grin, "and Saria is with him. Don't worry, though. You'll be joining both of them soon."

With that, Link watched in horror as the beast that had once been the Deku Tree literally uprooted itself, sending tremors through the earth, and in moments, it had begun to walk towards Link with enormous, thunderous steps, like a huge, wooden giant, standing on its roots. Nothing about it was right, or natural.

"Oh, my Goddesses!" Link gasped, as the branches of the massive tree started to move on their own, like a sea of thick, wooden arms. The Deku Tree was attacking him.

Swiftly, Link ducked under the first leafy blow of the massive beast before him; the beast that had once been the Deku Tree, and swung himself up onto one of its branches, using his hookshot. Then, as the branch itself started to grow around him, in an attempt to corner him, Link put his thumb on the hilt of his sword.

There wasn't a blur, or even a glint of metal, but Link's thumb had visibly snapped his sword back into its sheath a moment later, and at that very moment, the wood around him seemed to splinter in all directions away from him, cut in a hundred places by his blade.

As the branches started to slowly grow back together, Link leapt higher into them, and shot off several fire-arrows in mid-leap, which hit the leaves of the Deku Tree, causing them to catch fire. As the Deku Tree monster struggled to extinguish the flames, it rammed its head directly into the ground, both putting out the fire, and nearly trapping Link.

In the end, however, Link leapt off to one side, but was immediately pinned to the forest floor by one of the many wooden limbs, that the Deku Tree had sprouted, and although his hand was free, and still in control of his weapon, he could tell that it wouldn't do him much good to slice at the Deku Tree at that point. Twelve separate branches were closing in on him from all sides, each one looking sharp enough to impale him, and the Deku Tree's face was over twelve feet in front of him. There was no way that he could survive that attack, unless...

There was a technique, which Link had been trying to perform all night. He'd never performed the technique before, but he couldn't think of a reason why he shouldn't be able to. He was young, strong, agile, in the prime of his life, and full of energy, but it was only at that moment, when he saw the wooden branches closing in on him, that he realized what he had to do. The secret of the technique had finally revealed itself to him, at the moment of greatest danger.

Grasping his sword with both hands, Link held it out directly in front of him, with the blade facing the Deku Tree's head. There was no way the sword could reach the Deku Tree, but still, Link concentrated... He felt his arms, and he felt beyond them. His very soul seemed to be struggling, just as his body was, and the struggle that all the parts of him shared proved to be the final ingredient that Link had needed.

When the Hero of Time opened his eyes, his aura had changed. His magic force had altered, changing in both color and structure, and the Deku Tree, familiar with all forms of life, noticed it at once, and was distracted by it. For a moment, he dropped his guard, and had only a split-second to regret his mistake, as a blast of light flew from Link's sword with enormous speed, and plunged directly through the deku-creature's head.

Link slid backwards, as the Deku Tree's branches withered away. The monster's trunk had been split into a thousand pieces by the blast...

Link had always been capable of uniting his body and soul to one intention, but for the most part, he'd never seen the need, since it was difficult and taxing, even for someone like himself, but the abilities used against him by the Ericsons had alerted him to the fact that there were many types of power that he wasn't familiar with, and that very moment, against what was left of the Deku Tree, he'd mastered a new power of his own; the same kind that had been used by the male Ericson, on board the pirate ship.

It was a technique of body and soul acting as one, each transcending the other... He'd wielded the very life-force energy around himself as a weapon, and since the forest was so full of life, it had been a very potent weapon indeed. However, Link had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to concentrate enough to perform that new attack if he was wounded. It was just too difficult, and it required too much focus.

However, as the splintered pieces of the Deku Tree collapsed in on themselves, Link heard a shriek, and with his arms outstretched, he plunged directly through the Deku Tree's wooden remains in a flash, to retrieve a small person from within. He recognized her as soon as he'd pulled her from the Deku Tree's body. It was Saria, and she was covered in cuts and wood-splinters. In fact, she was obviously dying.

"Link!" Saria gasped out, looking horrified and alarmed over what had been happening to her, "The Great Deku Tree... trapped me! There's no time, though. I can sense what you have planned, Link, and although the risk is enormous, you might be right. For a war like this, we need allies... even if they're evil in our eyes."

"Saria! Don't speak!" Link exclaimed, tears already forming in his eyes, "You're hurt!"

However, Saria attempted to shake her head, and partially succeeded, replying, "Your plan needs to succeed, Link. If it doesn't, nothing else matters, and you need the power of the sage of forest if you're going to make it work; a power that only you can use. I can't… worry about myself. Use... my power... well..."

Then, with those words, Saria's eyes closed, and in just a moment more, Link threw back his head, and howled so loud and long, that there wasn't a soul in all the forest who didn't hear it, and cringe in fear.

Only the Gerudo known as Stalflare was unafraid when he heard the sounds of the Hero of Time's grief. He stepped forth from the shadows, mere moments after the fight had ended, to see that Saria had transformed into a mass of green energy, which was, at that very moment, covering Link completely. The green power flowed through him, and his outfit and sword were altered by it, turning an even brighter shade of green, and shining with a glowing, emerald aura, which surrounded Link's entire body... Link's mind and soul, however, hadn't been altered at all, in spite of the bizarre transformation that his body had undergone, and they dwelled very deeply on what had just happened to him.

In a moment, Stalflare raised his staff, causing his own body to be transformed into a flock of ravens, and although he and Link were almost twenty yards apart, it took the ravens less than three seconds to reach the hero of time, and reassume a humanoid form.

Soon, Stalflare spoke, looking into the eyes of the Hero of Time, but at first, he couldn't seem to get a reaction, so he spoke a second time, more forcefully, hoping that Link would be alright, in spite of all he'd just lost.

"Link..." Stalflare said, but that was all he could get out, before the Hero of Time's eyes started to look back into his, and in those eyes, Stalflare could see a story of love found and lost, outlined as if on a written page. It was a tragic story, and it hadn't been there before, but it told Stalflare all he needed to know about the girl who'd just died in Link's arms.

"Clearly," Stalflare realized silently, "that girl was special to him in ways that I might never understand or discover. No wonder he's behaving like a man who's lost his soul."

However, no sooner had that thought raced through Stalflare's mind, than Link rose to his feet with almost perfect composure, though his eyes still told the same tale of incalculable sorrows, and calmly said, "Let's go. We have fairies to find."

Stalflare had never in his life seen anyone push past their pain so perfectly, or so completely, and he wasn't at all used to meeting someone who couldn't be stopped by pain or fear. Stalflare's face was, for a moment, a mask of perfect shock and alarm, as he thought to himself about Link's mental constitution.

"By the Goddesses!" Stalflare thought in amazement, "Can a man even exist with emotional strength like this? Can he even be mortal?"

"At the very least," Link continued, seeming not to have noticed the admiration that he'd inspired in the gerudo wizard, "we have to get out of here. Simple steel can't kill the Deku Tree. He'll be back on his feet in as little as half an hour."

Then, his green-colored clothes rippling under a gust of wind from the north, Link walked out of the Deku Tree's meadow. He wasn't walking any faster than a normal man, however, and because of that, Stalflare could tell that Link had been slowed down by the sorrow that he'd so recently experienced. When it came time to slay the undead sorcerer in that forest, he thought, Link might not be fast enough after all...

* * *

The next stop for Link and his team, naturally, was the Lost Woods, and it was a place where neither Stalflare nor Epona had ever been, but although the place was still roughly the same shape as always, there were more dangerous beasts there than ever before. Still, none of the beasts lasted long when confronted by the fireballs that spiraled outward from Stalflare's palm.

"I was wondering when you were going to use a fire spell." Link commented, though at first, Stalflare was a little surprised by his words. After all, he had to wonder how Link had even known that Stalflare possessed fire magic. However, after thinking about it for a few moments, he started to understand how Link had acquired that knowledge.

"Having fought Ganondorf," Stalflare realized aloud, "You must have known that he was primarily an expert in flames. Yes, I learned a few fire spells in my time, but they were never my specialty. They're not nearly as effective as the spells of a more gifted mage."

"You might also want to avoid casting them at all in this section of the forest." Link said, though it was more of a casual suggestion, rather than a stern order, "The Kokiri might not look kindly on it if we burn down any of the untainted trees."

Stalflare gave Link a half-smirk when he said that, which sort of conveyed the message that he didn't care what the Kokiri thought, but he did refrain from using his fire magic for the duration of their journey through the Lost Woods.

Their trip into the midst of the woods wasn't filled with much excitement. There was a monster here or there, easily dispatched, but they did find quite a few fairies hiding under rocks and bushes. Navi; one of Link's former comrades, was among them. When Link had finally found the last of the fairies, he made an announcement to all of them at once.

"Is that everyone? Yes? Alright. Everyone's here. Now, I want all of you to go to the Lost Woods exit, and wait by the bridge with the Kokiri. Stalflare and I have an undead sorcerer to deal with."

* * *

The sorcerer's name, as it turned out, was Mazar, and as Link had suspected, he was standing before the entrance to the forest temple, trying to find a means of harnessing the full power of the forest. However, it was proving to be a very difficult task, and indeed, it would probably have taken, he supposed, weeks more to fully grasp the secrets of that place. It almost seemed like a true nexus of nature; completely different than any other forest he'd ever lived in before. In fact, in a way, the Kokiri Forest felt more vibrant and lively than any place that Mazar had ever visited.

"If only I'd had access to a place like this when I was alive," the sorcerer mused to himself in amazement, "I might have learned a great deal more about the natural order."

However, very soon, Mazar had run out of the time he needed for studying nature; at least for that moment. Link and Stalflare had approached from behind him, and very soon, battle would be joined.

"Here you are!" Link exclaimed, as he entered the Sacred Forest Meadow, "You deserve much worse than death for what you've done to this forest and its people; to... to the sage of the forest!"

Stalflare had only seen Link that angry once before. He could tell that the Hero of Time meant every word of what he was saying then.

Mazar, however, wasn't concerned, or if he was, he hid it well. The dispassionate calmness that he'd displayed, for the most part, on the bridge into the forest had become even more confident and bold, which was only making both Link and Stalflare feel worse.

"Ah. You've arrived." Mazar remarked, perfectly calmly, "I've been waiting here for a while, but if what you really want to do is kill me, then I'm sorry to have to disappoint you. I'm sure that you think you have great speed, but you're just wasting your time by trying to defeat me."

Then as Mazar drew his weapon, Link made yet another announcement, still looking very angry, but extremely confident as well.

"You're only challenging me because you think you have nature on your side, but you're wrong. You've cut a swathe through nature, but it'll never obey you."

Then, without another word from either of them, the fight began. Mazar began chanting spells, and with incredible speed, vines started to sprout from the ground all around him! Link had dashed forward at once, slicing at the vines left and right, while Stalflare, in the form of a single raven, was circling high above, searching for the best place to cast a spell. However, by the time Link had managed to cut through the vines, he found that Mazar had vanished.

Link's eyes darted back and forth, carefully trying to track down the location of his opponent. He was still suffering from the after-effects of the wounds inflicted on him by the Ericsons, and that may have been part of the reason why Mazar had gotten the drop on him so fast.

Too late, Link realized that the undead sorcerer was in the air overhead. Soon, the wizard had released a burst of powder from his hand, which spread out to cover the Hero of Time, like a kind of smokescreen. However, there was more to the powder than just smoke.

Link coughed and sputtered as the powder entered his lungs. It seemed to be some type of natural sneezing powder, but as Link was a Hylian, and immune to most diseases, its effectiveness against him was limited. The biggest problem was that it got in his eyes, and made it harder to find his fast-moving enemy, who was, before Link could finish the thought, rushing towards him from behind, and striking out with his sword.

Swiftly, Link slid sideways, and felt the blade of his opponent's sword scrape across his shield, and dig partway into his shoulder. Link was back on his feet in an instant, having shaken the powder from his eyes, and was looking around again. It was obvious that his enemy had been holding some of his speed back in their previous encounter, because during that last exchange of attacks, Link hadn't been able to see him at all. He'd occasionally catch a glimpse of a blurred shape appearing and vanishing in various different places, but he couldn't seem to follow Mazar's movements with his eyes.

Only a few seconds later, Link was still struggling to locate Mazar, but before he could find him, the sorcerer was on top of him again. That time, however, it was Stalflare who made the difference.

Transforming back into a gerudo in mid-air, Stalflare drove his staff downward, towards the forest floor, and flames erupted from it, surrounding him in a ball-like shape. The flames caused Mazar's sword arm to catch fire for a moment, before he reacted, knocking Stalflare's staff backwards with his sword, and only very nearly missing Stalflare's neck with that furious swipe.

The gerudo mage was knocked back by the sheer force of the undead champion's strength, but only flew backwards for about four feet, before he stopped his backward momentum by wedging his staff in the ground. By that time, Mazar had vanished again, his unnatural speed easily extinguishing the flames that had previously attacked his limb. In fact, all that remained of Stalflare's last attack were a small collection of fires, that were flickering as they burned on the forest floor, still blazing slightly, and reacting to... to...

Link felt like slapping himself across the face for not realizing it before. The one way to find Mazar and save the forest, even when he was moving too fast to be seen, was right before his eyes, and it had nothing to do with nature at all!

Link hesitated at that point, but only for a moment, because as little as he liked it, he knew what needed to be done. Fitting an arrow into his bow, Link fired at the tree that bordered the broken-down entrance to the Forest Temple, and watched in semi-horror as the entire thing burst into flames. Limbs and slivers of the tree fell to the ground all over the meadow, causing the grass itself to catch fire, and in the midst of it all stood Link and Stalflare, still looking for their adversary.

Stalflare must have thought that Link was going insane. Setting fire to the ground under their feet, and destroying the only means in or out of the Forest Temple for those without wings seemed like a meaningless and foolish action, but Link had drawn his sword again in seconds, and as the flames around him reflected off his eyes and sword alike, Stalflare could see what looked like a triumphant smile on the Hero of Time's face.

Yet, it soon became evident that Link's smile wasn't an assurance of victory. He'd apparently discovered some weakness in his impossibly-fast adversary, but he himself was weakened as well, from his many injuries. Perhaps that was part of the reason why, when Link next swung his sword, he didn't take off his opponent's head. In fact, he missed Mazar's neck by nearly eight feet, splintering the front hooves of Mazar's super-fast steed, and causing both to collapse to the ground.

Naturally, Mazar attempted to mount his steed again, but found that the entire thing was engulfed in flames by that point, and quite unable to move anymore, much less carry a passenger.

Furiously, Mazar turned to face the gerudo wizard, whose magic had caused the surrounding fire to consume his mount. Stalflare had obviously needed to pour much of his magic into accomplishing that task, because he was starting to look winded, but with the loss of his steed, Mazar's greatest advantage was gone. Its speed was the main reason why he'd dominated the fight up to that point, and without it, defeating the Hero of Time was going to be a challenge, even if his wizard friend couldn't get involved.

"I can cast one more spell." Stalflare guaged silently, watching Mazar from across the clearing, "Then I won't be of any use in this fight anymore..."

Enraged by the loss of his steed, Mazar whipped his sword around, and to the eyes of Stalflare, seemed almost to vanish again. That time, however, the blur of motion left behind by Mazar could plainly be seen by Stalflare, and as for Link, he could see Mazar just fine. The undead champion wasn't going anywhere near as fast without his steed.

However, despite what schoolteachers may claim, knowledge is not always power, and Link, weakened from his injuries, was on the defensive, receiving repeated minor cuts, until finally, he was backed up against one of the walls.

That was when Stalflare began chanting his spell. It was the kind of spell that required about five seconds to cast, so naturally, it got Mazar's attention.

At once, Mazar rounded on Stalflare, leaving the bruised and beaten hero behind. He leapt across the area, and just as Stalflare's spell was finished, Mazar's blade began to descend on him. Stalflare, too weakened to even dodge, stared Mazar directly in the face, ready to die like a warrior; like a Gerudo...

Just then, however, a clanging noise resounded through the forest, as Mazar's weapon collided with another blade! Mazar gasped, and looked up from his intended target. There, standing right between himself and Stalflare was Link, entirely bare of injuries, and holding his sword backwards across his chest, to block Mazar's blow.

Mazar was flabbergasted once again, but it seemed that Stalflare's final spell; his last chance to make a difference in that fight, had been spent on healing the Hero of Time of all his injuries. From that point on, Mazar realized with dread, the fight would be between himself and Link; one on one. There wouldn't be any more interruptions, and none of their allies would make any difference anymore.

"Me first." Link said grimly, and in the next moment, he muttered to Stalflare, "Just stay down for now."

The Gerudo didn't have to be told that twice.

What followed was a flurry of blades and bodies, as Mazar and Link fought on even terms, each similar in speed and strength, each occasionally trying to stun the other with their other weapons and abilities, but it soon became clear that their swords would decide that fight.

Stalflare watched in awe as, for the first time, he bore witness to the full extent of the Hero of Time's prowess with a blade. His methods of turning one way, then another, which seemed odd at first, were, in fact, a means of deflecting extra blows with the shield on his arm, with the hilt of his sword, and even with its sheath, still on his back.

Mazar managed himself just as well, however, twisting his wrists (and thus his blade) in ways that would have been impossible for someone who wasn't already dead. Periodically, he'd toss something to the ground, but Link always managed to evade whatever it was, and continue fighting.

They dodged back and forth, leaping to the sides, then back around to the front again. The sounds of the impact of their swords against one another were so rapid and deafening that they sounded almost like a rolling goron, only made of metal. The only difference in their attacks was that as the Hero of Time fought, he seemed to be continuing to calculate his opponent's technique. Mazar was, instead, reacting to attacks as they came, and for a while, it seemed to be working for him, but after Link's legs and arms had begun to suffer small injuries again, Link fell backwards onto the grass, throwing his sword up in the air, and bracing both hands against the ground, delivered a powerful kick with both feet into the midsection of his opponent. Just when it seemed that Mazar would shake the kick off and keep up his attack, however, Link's sword plunged downward, through his enemy's ribs, immobilizing the undead fiend. Then, without a moment's hesitation, Link scrambled to his feet, and shot an arrow directly into Mazar, at extremely close range.

It was almost impossible for Mazar to believe that he'd been defeated by the living. Yet, he knew that Link had won their fight, and as his midsection began to catch fire, he spoke out to Link in a voice like a whisper...

"But... Why...? Nature..."

Link, obviously not pleased with how things had turned out, replied to Mazar's intended question as best he could, sort of hoping that it would give the undead one the ability to finally rest in peace.

"You've been deceiving yourself, Mazar. Nature isn't a power to be controlled. It's a living thing with a will of its own. Controlling it isn't like directing a flow of water. Until you've learned that, you don't understand nature at all."

For a moment, Link could almost swear that he saw a genuine smile spread over Mazar's lips, like a father losing his first game of ball to his son, but all too soon, that smile turned back into a smirk, and as his entire body was consumed by the blaze, Mazar spat out, "You think... you're so... clever... ..."

For a moment, as Mazar's body was burned to cinders in front of him, Link wondered if it wouldn't be prudent to mourn the passing of the dead one, considering the nature of that death, but he eventually decided against it. There were enough living people who still needed his help, and the dead, he decided, could be dealt with afterwards.

Just a moment later, Link had helped the exhausted Stalflare to his feet, and the two of them started back for the entrance to the Kokiri Forest, where the kokiri and fairies would probably be waiting for them. Of course, the deed had been done, and they needed to return to the ranch, to plan their next move, but Stalflare still wasn't satisfied. Both he and Link were very tired, though, so for a while, they helped each other reach the bridge. However, when they finally neared the Lost Woods bridge, Stalflare found that he couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer.

"Hero of Time, I need to ask you something. Why did you burn down that tree in the forest clearing, and how did you find that sorcerer while he was on his steed? I confess, I couldn't see him at all, at that point."

As he listened to the question, however, a smile started to spread across Link's face. Obviously he had an answer for that question already, and he seemed very eager to give it.

"Actually, you gave me the idea. You see, I couldn't see him either, and I knew I was dead unless I could find some way to track his general motions. That was when I saw the small fires you made in the forest, and I remembered that wind effects the shape of flame. Since the sorcerer was moving so fast, every motion he made was like a typhoon, so I figured out that all I needed was a fire big enough to clue me in to his motions. When the flames danced to the left, it meant he was turning that way, and so forth. I'm just glad it worked, or we'd probably both be dead by now."

"Yes." Stalflare replied, "I'm glad as well, H... Link."

Soon, the two of them had arrived at the Lost Woods bridge, and spent a while making plans with the Kokiri, but that experience had changed Stalflare's opinion of Link for good. That, after all, had been the first battle that they'd fought together, and their partnership, which had started out somewhat rocky, began to smooth out on that day, when they brought the Kokiri safely back to Lon Lon Ranch...

* * *

Note: This chapter covers parts 6-19 in the original format.


	4. P1 Ch4 Nyarokai and Gerudi

Note: If you started reading in the original format, look to the bottom of the chapter for a guide on how to find where you left off.

* * *

Chapter 4: Nyarokai and Gerudi

* * *

When Stalflare woke up the next morning, under a canopy of leaves, his first thought was that he must have still been in the forest, but then, he sat up and looked past his feet, to see that through the leaves, there was a piece of an old fence, and all the events of the previous night came rushing back to him in an instant after he saw that.

He remembered their retreat back to the ranch, the work they'd all done; setting up camp in the ranch again, and the time he'd spent learning about the powers of the forest spirits known as the kokiri; how they could, through teamwork and concentration, exert some control over the plant life that surrounded them. As a gesture of gratitude for saving them, the kokiri had constructed two tree-like domes in the Ranch, made using nothing more than their own close commune with nature, and the local flora.

One of the domes had been grown for the kokiri themselves, to be used as shelter, while the other had been intended for Link and his group. The fairies, requiring no real rest themselves, had preferred to simply splash around in the water buckets and watering troughs, occasionally using their magic to make a small spark, or a globule of ice, which bounced harmlessly off the water, leaving small, jagged white markings of frost, that soon melted in the warmth of the summer night.

The fairies were a beautiful sight to see, and Stalflare, having had little experience with them, and in fact, having rarely had any opportunity to see one at all, would have loved to have watched them all night, but his ordeal had been far too harrowing, and he couldn't have stayed up any later, even to watch the golden goddesses themselves.

Naturally, the wounds of Link and Stalflare were the first thing attended to by the fairies and kokiri on the previous evening. Link had been the one with the most outer wounds, while Stalflare had simply been drained of his magic, to the point of exhaustion, but having had a reasonable meal and a good night's sleep, he actually felt stronger than he ever had in his life on that morning, and some instinct told him it wasn't merely a matter of perspective.

For a few moments, Stalflare toyed with the idea of testing out his magic, to see if it really had become stronger, but it was a mere, whimsical thought, which he knew had to remain nothing more than that for the moment. He had a feeling that every drop of his magic would be needed in the days ahead, if Link's plan, whatever it was, was to come to fruition.

Stalflare grabbed his staff from the side of the dome he'd been sleeping under and pulled his hooded cloak over his head and shoulders, then splashed some water; disappointingly barren of small, flying people, onto his face, and decided to take a walk over to the other side of the ranch.

Link had been the first to wake up, but was obviously entirely healed from his ordeal. He was distributing orders to kokiri and fairies alike, and they, knowing he was their only hope for survival, followed them to the letter. Stalflare could see that already, a number of the kokiri were coaxing some roots to grow into a shape that was as sharp as knives, but easy to pick, like a vegetable.

The idea almost made Stalflare scoff. The kokiri; a race known primarily for their small size and whimsical outlook on life, were readying themselves to go out into battle, armed with wooden swords, that they were growing from the ground.

The gerudo wizard could also see quite a few kokiri practicing some kind of rudimentary healing spell with the fairies, and he had to admit that would probably be their most instrumental use. As Stalflare hurriedly approached Link, the Hero of Time showed all the signs of having seen him from the very moment he'd woken up, but he continued speaking with the kokiri and fairies for a moment longer, nonetheless.

"That's where we need our primary defenses to go..." Link explained, indicating the outer parts of the ranch, with only one exit not blocked by a stone wall, "Everyone here has special skills and abilities that'll be useful in our war against this new, deadly foe, and everyone here has lost loved ones, but together, we can stop this evil force cold, and maybe even find a way to get our friends back."

Then, Link commented on what each member of the group could do, as though listing their special skills from memory, and considering how long he'd spent in the forest, he probably was.

"In the meantime," Link continued, pointing to those who were more skilled in combat, "your team will need to guard our structure from outside attack. We can expect the strongest attacks to come from the north, but there may also be invasion attempts from Gerudo Valley as well."

At that moment, the group scattered, to go about their difficult businesses, but at least Link was being left on his own, which gave Stalflare the chance to address him; a chance he'd been waiting for.

"May I speak with you for a moment... alone?"

"Of course." Link replied, looking around for a moment, and then using his thumb to point to a tree to one side of the ranch, "That's a good spot, over there..."

In the space of five seconds, the two were standing on the other side of the tree that Link had indicated, and it was only then that Link asked, "What's on your mind?"

"Your idea to use the fairies as builders was a decent one," Stalflare admitted, "but these kokiri have the bodies of children. They won't last long against the undead. We need real warriors to bolster our ranks if we ever expect to survive even a single battle."

Link had obviously expected something like that, however, because he didn't look surprised by Stalflare's suggestion.

"You're going to tell me where to find real warriors, I suppose..."

"We need to head for Gerudo Valley next." Stalflare insisted, ignoring the irritated tone that Link has assumed, "My people will be able to aid us. They're the finest fighters in all of Hyrule. What's more, we won't need to worry about attacks from the east any longer, once we've taken back the desert."

For a moment, Link seemed to consider what Stalflare had said, but finally, he simply muttered, "There's... some wisdom... in what you're suggesting, but I won't risk the safety this base to go off on an expedition yet. We'll deal with the forces we have first. If we can hold this base against one attack, the kokiri might be able to take care of another by themselves. Once we're all prepared for battle, and it looks like we have a decent shot at surviving, we can scour Gerudo Valley for your people."

With a strict stare into Stalflare's face, which seemed to carry the silent message; "and that is that," Link walked back towards his makeshift "troops," and left Stalflare muttering to himself.

"Deal with the forces we have?" Stalflare whispered under his breath. "This is insane."

By that point, Stalflare had too much respect for the results of Link's often-unusual methods to betray him over one disagreement, but that didn't mean that he had to like it.

* * *

The two went about their business immediately after that discussion, both upset, though for different reasons, and neither quite willing to trust the other with the source of that anger.

All through the morning, kokiri and fairies filed out of their respective canopies and makeshift tents, and armed themselves, or learned spells of healing or attack from Stalflare, or some of the more experienced kokiri mages. However, at about midday, when nearly half their work was done, the kokiri who was guarding the entrance to the ranch let out a shout, and Link was by his side at once.

As it turned out, the kokiri hadn't been attacked, but he'd seen something coming from the north. Link's sharp eyes picked out six figures coming from that direction in no time.

At once, Link summoned the kokiri who were armed, and told them to take up positions around the front gate. There were undead creatures invading from the north, but they were some of the most oddly-shaped things that even he had ever seen.

One had apparently once been a goron, because it was made of stone, but lava seemed to pour from its eyes and mouth when it opened them, and Link could plainly see that the ground where it stepped was bursting into flames. The second was apparently a woman, but her ribs and palms seemed to jut out unnaturally into spiked weapons and skeletal wings. The third figure resembled a Zora, but its bones were in places where they shouldn't have been, which almost seemed to make it a more flexible fighter. The fourth and fifth were very skeletal in natural, like Stalfos, only hunched over, and with sharp claws instead of swords. Link could tell that they'd once been Hylians.

The last invader wasn't a single person at all, but Link had mistaken it for one when he'd first seen it, because it had been quite a ways away. It was a cloud of vicious, bat-like creatures, which had swarmed out of Hyrule Castle to join the others, and he could tell that they wouldn't be simple foes to face.

When Link had been just a small boy, he'd conquered monsters of that sort, but he didn't know if the kokiri were ready to fight that kind of foe. At once, he called Stalflare over to him, intent on devising some workable plan against their new enemies.

"I may need your magic to repel this invasion," Link said quickly, as soon as Stalflare had joined him, "I'll help, and so will the kokiri who think they're ready."

A surprising number of the kokiri seemed to think that they were up to the task of fighting back against their enemies, but then again, they had the wisdom of ages to draw upon, even though they often acted like little kids.

When the apparent invaders had gotten close enough, Link gave the order to attack, and his miniature army charged forth and started plunging their wooden weapons into the enemy, or firing bolts of magic from a distance.

Delivering the first blow, Link shot an ice arrow into one of the eyes of the undead Goron, causing it to freeze completely solid. Then, without even drawing his sword, he struck out, and shattered the fiend with his gauntlet-covered fists.

Stalflare had, by that time, used his magic to slay one of the ghouls, and five kokiri had killed the woman-like fiend. Five more were attacking the other ghoul, but having a rough job of it, and the fairies had engaged in combat with the swarm of bats en masse.

The Zora, however, had been left unchecked, and blasted one of the kokiri with a shot of energy from its mouth. Link was on top of the Zora at once, and in moments, it was in pieces, but the injured kokiri had to be carried back to base, where the fairies did their best to heal what wounds they could.

At last, the threat to the base was over, and no one had been killed, although many injuries had been suffered. Link was feeling terrible about what he'd been forced into, but he had his plan to think about, and he knew that he couldn't let Saria's sacrifice be in vain. Because of that, with the enemy stopped, for the moment, the group of living creatures returned to their makeshift base, to finish their preparations.

They were all hard at work on those preparations until the evening came.

* * *

When dusk finally fell, virtually all of the kokiri had been armed and trained to some extent, and many fairies had been taught new spells as well. At any rate, it seemed to have been enough, because that was when Link made one last announcement to the allies that he'd gathered together in that small base.

"Alright. I want everyone to gather by the west gate. If we move out now, we should be able to make it to Gerudo Valley while there's still some light out."

"I'd say it's about time..." muttered Stalflare, as he turned and picked up his staff from nearby. They'd already lost more time than he liked, and it was, as he saw it, important that they leave immediately.

* * *

Soon, the troop of dedicated kokiri and fairies headed out for the west, leaving Nalabal, Epona, and a large number of fairies and armed kokiri behind to guard the base as best they could.

The mad dash to the river next to Gerudo Valley was over in less than fifteen minutes, and it only took that long because of the shorter legs of their kokiri compliment, but as they crossed the bridge that covered the gap over the river, Stalflare just continued to stare ahead, never looking away from the place where he'd spent most of his life. It seemed as if Stalflare had noticed something that had pleased him, and after a short time, Link had started to see it too, through the swirling sands, though he wasn't sure what was so pleasant about the sight.

The gate to Gerudo Valley was closed, and wedged in place.

Link cast Stalflare a questioning glance as soon as he saw the smile that had spread across the gerudo wizard's face, almost as if to ask "Why is it good that they've locked us out?"

"I see." Stalflare finally said, acknowledging Link's cluelessness over the whole situation with something like a nod, "The outside gate is locked. That doesn't surprise me. In times of danger, the gerudo seclude themselves behind the main gate. At the very least, this proves there are still some gerudo left alive."

At that point, it was Link's turn to smile, at least for a moment, but his stern expression had returned in no time.

"It's possible." Link admitted, "But it also complicates things, because now, we have to force the gate if we want to get in, and that might send the gerudo a bad message. If you'd like, you can all help me try to break it down."

Stalflare looked just a little displeased with the idea, but when Link started pushing against the enormous, wooden gate with his armored hands, the gerudo emissary did eventually join in, followed by some of the kokiri, who were following them.

After what seemed like half an hour, the gate collapsed inward, and Link had to grab one kokiri by the arm, to get him out of the way of the flying debris and collapsing timbers. In a few seconds more, however, the gate was on the ground, and Link had taken the first steps over its shattered, wooden remains, to enter Gerudo Valley. Still, the sight that he saw when he entered the valley didn't make him feel any better.

No guards patrolled the upper levels of the Gerudo Fortress. No spearwomen or archers were trying to capture them for what they'd done to the gate. In fact, the only sign of any activity was in one small section, just outside the gerudo's "trial area," where Link could spot six young gerudo, armed and watchful, standing outside one of their war tents. They seemed to be trying desperately to keep from collapsing under a combination of stress and physical strain, though Link could only spot two injuries among the group of them. They'd obviously been through a very harrowing ordeal.

For the moment, Link instructed the fairies and kokiri to stand back, as he and Stalflare approached the battered gerudo soldiers, who still looked too nervous and insecure to rebuke Link for his violent intrusion into their territory, the way they normally would have. To the kokiri, of course, the gerudo must have seemed like dangerous giants, so it was just as well for them to keep their distance.

Link, of course, knew the gerudo well enough that he wasn't afraid of them, but just as he got within a few yards of the group of warrior women, he heard a sharp, stern, female voice ringing out from their midst.

"Are you expecting some kind of welcome from us, Hero of Time?"

As soon as Link saw the woman whose voice had just addressed him, he felt like hitting himself. It was the same gerudo guard who, as a child, had first told him that he wasn't allowed into the Gerudo Fortress, before he'd saved the kingdom from Ganondorf, and involved the gerudo in his training. To her, his very presence must have been an embarrassment in a way.

Link hoped that she'd be able to look past those feelings, though, because they didn't really matter. No personal feelings mattered when a victory over evil was at stake. Unfortunately, Link didn't know her name either, because they'd hardly ever spoken since Ganondorf's defeat, but under the circumstances, he had more important things to deal with than introductions.

"Actually," Link replied to the soldier, trying to force a smile, "I'm looking for Nabooru. I'm trying to stop the undead, and I was hoping she and her warriors could help me."

It was obvious that the gerudo; apparently an archer, judging from her bow and arrows, was trying her best to look disgusted with Link by that point. She clearly had problems of her own.

"Nabooru is out visiting the Spirit Temple." She said, "Were I you, Hero, I wouldn't disturb her. She's praying to the sand goddess Gerudi for help."

However, at that point, her expression seemed to soften just a little, from disgust, into a mask of impassiveness, and she made another suggestion.

"However, if you're looking for undead to slay, you won't have to look far. They assault this fortress hourly now. We may not be able to hold out much longer at this rate."

"What?" Link asked, more than a little surprised by the predictions of doom that the red-haired soldier had just given him, "I don't understand. The gerudo are powerful conquerors. Physically, you're one of Hyrule's mightiest peoples. What could be so terrible, that it would drive you into hiding?"

However, when Link had asked that question, it quickly became obvious that the gerudo soldier was feeling a little angry and ashamed on that subject. Obviously, she was proud of her skills and power as a warrior, and being routed like that was a bruise to her ego, but regardless, she started explaining the situation in moments.

"There's a creature out in the wastes of the desert." The archer said, nearly trembling with rage as she spoke, "It passed once through our fortress, and we did have the chance to fight it for a while, but nothing we did seemed to have hurt it at all. It has great, superhuman powers. I'm sure of that. It knocked our best soldiers back with a single swipe. I think we wounded it once, but the wound didn't have any effect, and vanished within seconds, then the creature disappeared into the desert."

"Since then, we've been under continual attack by swarms of insects, and undead creatures wrapped in bandages. They're all very strong in their own right, and many of our finest warriors have fallen in battle with them, but we've managed to slay several of them. However, as far as we can tell, the first creature we fought is still out there. We were able to learn that it had established itself in a fortress, in the northern parts of the desert, and we sent a troop of our best soldiers to invade that fortress and kill it. They never returned. In our experience, that thing has proven itself invulnerable."

Link frowned at that point, though it wasn't because he agreed with what she was saying, but rather, because he knew that she wasn't entirely right about that.

"Even the gods themselves aren't completely invulnerable." Link said at last, looking back at the gerudo archer with both concern and skepticism, "Nothing is ever invulnerable unless it's omnipotent too."

That was the first and only time that Link had ever see the archer smile, and only for a moment.

"Alright," she acknowledged, "but killing it seems to be beyond our abilities. That's why Nabooru and another troop of our soldiers have gone into the desert, to try to enlist the help of the goddess Gerudi. She might be the only one who can save us now."

Stalflare listened to the discussion intently from nearby, and his thoughts focused on that one point, but he didn't speak them aloud, because his thoughts were very negative ones.

"He'll think it's nonsense." Stalflare thought silently, still watching Link carefully, "He won't believe in Gerudi, like all Hylians."

That wasn't the first time that Link surprised Stalflare, however, nor was it destined to be the last. In fact, Link's reply was, far from scorn or cynicism; a very honest and genuine "Yes. That does sound like the best course of action. I'll go out into the desert to meet with Nabooru when she leaves the temple. I hope she's able to enlist the aid of your Goddess. We need all the help we can get right now."

"What?" Stalflare thought to himself in surprise. He'd never seen a hylian anywhere who was willing to acknowledge Gerudi's existence, despite the fact that the Spirit Temple had been, according to legend, built to honor her. In his eyes, Link was becoming a more and more interesting person as time went on.

For a few seconds, the gerudo archer said nothing, because she seemed to have been just as surprised by Link's response as Stalflare was, but at last, she told him, "So be it. Maybe you can protect her for a little while longer, while she prays, but don't interrupt her."

In response, Link tugged lightly on the edge of his hat, in a sort of minor salute, and told her reverently, "You have my word."

Then, Stalflare and the kokiri rejoined Link, as the gate out into the desert opened, and they proceeded onward, into the dangerous, whirling sands.

* * *

After what Link had heard from the gerudo archer, he'd expected to have to wade through armies of mummified foes on his path to the Spirit Temple, but strangely, all the way there, neither he nor his forces met with any opposition at all.

They were soon to discover that that was because their enemy was conserving his powers, building them up for a larger assault later, but for the moment, Link just supposed that they'd made a mistake, and the danger wasn't really as great as they'd claimed.

When Link's forces finally arrived at the Spirit Temple, they found two gerudo guarding the front entrance. As Link himself approached the Temple, however, a tall, beautiful gerudo emerged from the temple's entrance right in front of him, wearing her typical sandals, puffy pants, thin upper-body covering, and in addition, she also wore a circlet of red gemstones around her head. That circlet was, Link knew, the symbol of gerudo nobility.

Soon, Queen Nabooru had walked right up to Link, wearing a mixed expression, as if she was relieved to see him, but not really pleased.

"Hello, hero." She said, though she didn't smile, "It's been a while."

"Yes," Link agreed, with an equally-professional nod of his head, "it has. Have you had any luck contacting your Goddess?"

"Yes," Nabooru admitted, though she had one hand on her forehead in frustration as she spoke, "but I'm afraid the news isn't good. She says that her power can no longer be unleashed upon the desert until the gems of the mystic sands are reunited."

Link didn't really know much of anything about Gerudi, or about the Mystic Sand Gems, but under the circumstances, it seemed like a good idea to help the gerudo with their plans, no matter what that involved, and as always, that meant that he needed more information.

"Where are those gems?" Link asked, trying to be helpful. Nabooru, however, looked just as frustrated as ever when she replied to his question a moment later.

"Ganondorf's servants hid them in the desert when he was still in power, to keep Gerudi from interfering with his plans to grasp the Triforce." Nabooru explained, "Some of the gerudo know where they are, but you see, the gems are to the north, closer to the fortress of the undead creature that invaded our desert recently. I don't think any gerudo will want to guide you into that dangerous territory."

"Then I'll find the gems myself." Link replied with determination, refusing to be discouraged, even by the gerudo queen, "How big can the desert be?"

"Indeed." Nabooru nearly laughed in a haughty sort of way, "For someone like you, it might really be that simple. After all, you've done a lot of other impossible things in the past. Just remember that there are three Mystic Sand Gems, and they're probably all hidden under the sands by now, so I'd say that your job isn't going to be an easy one."

By that point, it seemed like Nabooru was getting tired of trying to discourage Link. She obviously needed his help, and yet, she was a very proud woman, like all gerudo. If Link succeeded where all of her people had failed, it might very well save all their lives, but it wouldn't make her feel any better.

Obviously, however, Nabooru was still trying to hide how she really felt when she adopted a very serious expression once again, and said, "One more thing. I need to speak to Stalflare for a minute alone."

Link merely nodded in response, but Stalflare replied to her aloud.

"As you command, my queen."

* * *

Stalflare and Nabooru traveled to the north for about a dozen yards together, before Nabooru showed any sign of how she really felt about that whole situation. Once she was sure that the two of them were alone, she seized Stalflare by the arm, and forcibly yanked him behind one of the small cave entrances that littered the area, where no one would have been able to see them; even if they'd been nearby. However, Stalflare could see the look on Nabooru's face. The gerudo queen was scowling bitterly, and looked about ready to explode.

"Why did you bring him here?" Nabooru hissed softly to Stalflare, like someone who could barely contain her rage, "You know hylians aren't welcome in Gerudo Valley in times of crisis!"

Stalflare remained perfectly calm and composed while he replied to that, however, saying, "I believe he may be our only chance for survival against these invaders. You know we've never fought anything like this before. Can you think of anyone better to help us against beasts like these?"

In response, Nabooru just sighed, and covered her face in her hands for a moment, then looked directly up into the sky before replying to him. It was obvious that her motives were very confused by that point, and getting in each other's way, but it only took her a few seconds to order them somewhat.

"I've never doubted the abilities of the Hero of Time, but I've also never completely trusted a Hylian. As much as I've aided Link in the past, I didn't get to know him very well. You know him. Can we trust him?"

For a few moments, Stalflare was silent, but at last, he replied to her question, frowning, but still perfectly calm, "It's difficult to say, but he's always trusted me, and he believes in Gerudi. My instinct tells me that the Hero of Time is someone who won't try to destroy us, or our ways."

With that, Nabooru motioned for the two of them to return to where Link was standing, and whispered, "I only pray you're right." After that, she just let the matter drop, leaving Stalflare alone with his thoughts.

Nabooru had looked suspicious during her whole discussion with Stalflare, but as the two of them approached the Spirit Temple again, getting closer to where Link was standing, she was starting to look a lot less nervous, and very soon, she'd made another announcement to her people, sounding perfectly confident in her own next course of action, at least.

"I must re-enter the Spirit Temple, to see if I can learn more about our enemies from Gerudi. Good luck in your search for our sacred gems."

"Good luck to you as well, oh queen." Link replied, giving her a reverent bow of respect, and looking towards the northern sections of the desert, as if trying to decide where to search for the gemstones first. Obviously, Link had quite a few things to worry about, but then, they all had problems of their own.

In seconds, Queen Nabooru had vanished into the temple once again, and it didn't take Link long to start making command decisions again. Soon, he'd started giving the kokiri their orders. It was their job to divide their forces between the Spirit Temple and the Gerudo Fortress, but Link and Stalflare would be searching for the gemstones alone.

Link didn't explain why he'd made that decision, but Stalflare had to agree with it. After all, the mission had to be finished quickly, and the kokiri weren't exactly fleet-footed.

However, just as Link and Stalflare were getting ready to travel north from the Spirit Temple, the gerudo wizard realized that he had another question that needed answering, and Link seemed open enough to answer it honestly, if he was asked the question directly, so soon, Stalflare had grabbed Link by the shoulder to get his attention, and spoke up, ready to voice his concerns.

"Something still puzzles me, Hero." Stalflare said, a suspicious look appearing in his expression again as he spoke, "Besides yourself, I've never met a Hylian willing to believe in Gerudi. Why do you believe so readily in our sand goddess?"

Link was ready with an answer to that question, though it was one that he felt a little odd giving, especially since it didn't have any real evidence behind it. Link always felt a little awkward whenever he had to defend a viewpoint that he couldn't back up with evidence.

"Stalflare," Link said, looking down at the desert sands for a moment, "I've personally met a number of gods and goddesses myself. When you've been so many places, and seen so many things that most people think are impossible, disbelief isn't something that comes easily."

"I see." Stalflare realized, looking thoughtful as he pondered Link's reasoning for several moments, "You have an open mind, because of what you've experienced. If only all Hylians could be so open to belief, our relations with your people might be better..."

Deep down inside, however, Stalflare doubted that very much. To a gerudo, the philosophy on life and living that hylians honored would have come across as empty and unfulfilling. Gerudo aspirations and pride were too large to fit into hylian society, no matter who believed what, and the hylian desire to learn, and strict non-judgmentalism were in almost stark contrast to what the gerudo believed.

"And yet," Stalflare realized silently, as he pondered the situation even further, "in dangerous times, we'll march readily enough across each other's lands, and save each other's lives without being at one another's throats. I wonder if that's what really matters in the end."

Stalflare continued going over those kinds of thoughts in his mind, as the two adventurers passed over the dunes to the north of the Spirit Temple, to enter the vast expanse of the open desert ahead of them.

* * *

Link and Stalflare continued to walk north for quite some time, passing over sand dunes, and through whole sections of the desert, where the sand was whipped through the air by harsh winds. Fortunately, the sun was on the verge of setting, so the climate of the desert wasn't as oppressive as it had been the last time Link had visited it, and Stalflare was used to much worse weather himself.

Soon, however, as they were walking around one dune, and towards another, Stalflare cried out in alarm, and pointed to the ground. Link couldn't see a thing in the direction he was pointing, but he diligently started rushing towards the place where Stalflare had pointed, hoping that the gerudo wasn't started to see mirages.

"Dig here." Stalflare instructed Link quickly and eagerly, "I can see a gemstone under the sand."

Link had heard stories, claiming that gerudo could see through layers of sand, but he'd never seen one of them use that ability before. In moments, he was digging in the sand at his feet, and soon, the excavation had turned up a magnificent-looking emerald; about the same size as the spiritual stone of the forest, which Link had seen and handled when he'd just been a little boy. There were a lot of large gemstones in Hyrule, but that emerald was one of the largest that Link had ever seen.

"The Emerald of the Shifting Sands." Stalflare observed, smiling confidently, as he took the gemstone in one hand and held it up, into the light of the setting sun, "It was once believed to be so powerful, that if enchanted properly, it could cause sandstorms large enough to swallow entire continents."

"Well, we are looking for an enchantment of some kind." Link admitted, taking the gem from Stalflare, and putting it into his bag for safekeeping, "Maybe the magic in the gemstone will be able to protect us."

Just then, however, Stalflare turned towards the north, where he seemed to be looking directly through the sand, and his mouth fell open in shock. Link couldn't see through the sands the way Stalflare could, but he could tell from the wizard's expression that he'd seen the lair of the monster, and had started to feel shaken by what that creature had done to the desert in that area.

Then, however, Stalflare did something that Link had never seen coming. He leapt right into Link, and pushed him down into the sand, face-first.

Link hadn't expected Stalflare to do anything like that, but his reasons soon became apparent. A horde of large insects; as thick as a stormcloud was flying in the direction of the lair that Stalflare had been staring at just moments before, as though returning to their master. In that moment, Stalflare's trained eyes had probably saved Link's life.

* * *

When Nabooru had told Link that he'd probably have a difficult time finding a guide, he hadn't even realized that Stalflare could serve just as well, for that purpose. Like all gerudo, he was trained to pick up tiny reflections in sand granules, which allowed him to look around sandstorms, and over sand dunes. It was almost like seeing directly through the desert sands themselves, but much harder and more complicated. The result was that their journey further to the west produced another gem, which Link could never have spotted without Stalflare's sharp eyesight.

That second gem hadn't been buried, like the first, but it was in the middle of a sandstorm, and with great care, Stalflare was able to pluck it out with his lightly-armored hands.

In a very short time, Stalflare smiled, as he handed Link a ruby the size of his head, and started to explain what he knew about it.

"This gem is called the Ruby of the Scorching Sun. It was believed to have the power to amplify heat waves to a frightening degree, but the knowledge of how to do that has been lost through the ages."

By then, however, it was Link's turn to smile, as he replied, "I'll bet your Goddess still has that knowledge."

However, as Link smiled, he noticed that Stalflare's own momentary grin had vanished, because the gerudo sorcerer was staring at the sky.

"What is it?" Link asked, already starting to feel a sense of dread himself, "More insects?"

"Nothing so obvious," Stalflare replied, clearly very scared by what he'd just noticed, "but waves of mana are floating in the direction of the Gerudo Fortress from the north, as though someone in the monster's lair was attempting to enchant our very gates."

"In that case, we have to hurry." Link said, donning a very determined expression, "Something tells me the last gem is hidden in the desert to the east..."

* * *

"As though someone in the monster's lair was attempting to enchant our very gates."

Those had been Stalflare's words, but he couldn't have realized just what was really happening to the north of the desert, because at that very moment, at the gates of Gerudo Valley, where the remaining gerudo forces had stationed themselves around the entrance, less than thirty yards from the gate itself, off to the west, one of the archers on guard spotted a disturbance.

The disturbance began as a few grains of sand, which started levitating off the ground on their own. It could almost have been mistaken for a natural wind, but natural winds rarely make sand hang in mid-air, or suddenly start spinning after such an unnatural pause, and all at once.

However, within the space of a few seconds, those spinning grains of sand had become a vast sandstorm, and from the center of that sandstorm emerged a hoard of crawling insects, and a swarm of flying bugs. They made their move as one, attacking from every angle, and moving in from every side, and it was a testament to the skill of the gerudo archers that they were able to shoot and kill several of those large bugs, before retreating behind the gates to plan a better offensive.

* * *

"There it is." Stalflare remarked, pointing to the ground at last, after another short trek across the desert. At once, Link wedged his shield into the ground, and pushed downward on one end, to unearth a gemstone from underneath the sand. That one was a large, purple Amethyst of remarkable size and beauty.

The moment that Link had removed the gem from the ground, Stalflare smiled again, and started to describe the gem that he and Link had just recovered.

"This is the Amethyst of the Desert Winds." Stalflare explained with a satisfied grin, "The legends said it could make winds of any direction or intensity imaginable, but no one knows how to use its power anymore..."

"What about the monster that attacked the Gerudo Fortress?" Link asked Stalflare in a worried tone of voice, "Does it have a power like that itself?"

"I suppose it's always possible." Stalflare replied with a shrug of his shoulders, "Why?"

"Because," Link said, pointing directly upwards for a moment, "the clouds are moving away from his lair."

* * *

With very little hesitation, Link and Stalflare had started dashing back towards the Spirit Temple in seconds, as the desert winds picked up all around them, and strange vibrations began to fill the air nearby, but they were still only halfway to the temple, when a sandstorm picked up in front of them, and seemed to be trying to block their path.

Stalflare watched in horror, and Link in defiance, as that product of dark sorcery twisted and turned, depositing four gibdos, and dozens of flesh-eating insects on the ground in front of them.

As soon as the monsters had appeared, there was a voice that seemed to be coming from the very air around Link and his ally, as though amplified by every grain of sand nearby, and it sounded as if it was coming from a throat that was almost incomplete.

"A team of my servants should be sufficient to finish the two of you." the monstrous voice said calmly, "Unfortunately, I can't finish you off in person, but I have to focus on connecting myself to the spirits of this desert land. I can't access my full power yet, and that has to be my first priority. Still, I'm sure you don't care about any of that."

Just like that, the voice was gone, and the sandstorm slowly dissipated. At once, Link began to grasp a small part of what they were facing, and it frightened him that any creature should have such terrifying power. He'd fought Ganondorf, of course, but at the time, he'd been protected from his supernatural influence, and Ganondorf hadn't mastered the full powers of the Triforce anyway.

The new foe that Link was facing had obviously mastered the art of controlling parts of the world around him through magic of some kind, and not only that, but it seemed that he wasn't even at full strength yet.

Link looked around desperately, gazing at the enemies he'd just been presented with. He could definitely fight the large, bandaged gibdos standing in front of him. After all, he'd fought fiends like them before, but the insects were so small and numerous, that there was only one way to really stop them, and Link didn't like to use that method, because it always wore him out.

"Try to shield yourself, Stalflare." Link said, assuming a fighting stance he'd used several times before, "I'm going to use fire."

With no more words than that, Link opened his palm, and shoved it against the ground, and at once, a dome of fire spread out in all directions, setting fire to the airborne and ground-based insects alike. The fire seemed to bend around Stalflare, instead of hitting him, but then, he'd learned fire spells from Ganondorf himself; a true master of fire magic if there'd ever been one.

Link had expected the Gibdos to burn as well, but those ones seemed to be shielded from his attack somehow. They rushed forward to lash out against Hyrule's champions, and Stalflare, seeing that Link was getting too tired to fight, leapt into action, and blew a hole through one of their enemies with a bolt of shining energy.

Link had managed to chop a second gibdo apart before long, but the two heroes of Hyrule were still fighting tireless opponents in the middle of a desert. Even the gerudo weren't totally immune to the terrible heat and blinding light of the desert, and they were both getting exhausted in no time.

Grabbing Link by the arm, Stalflare cast one last spell, and without turning to face him, spoke in a hurried voice.

"Why are we bothering with these cretins? We can outrun them without any difficulty at all. Let's flee, and deal with them later. This battle is meaningless."

When he shook off his exhaustion just enough to consider what Stalflare had said, Link had to admit that he was right. The fight against those enemies didn't really matter. What mattered was defeating the powerful, undead lord who'd summoned them.

Swiftly, the two champions of life dashed around the Gibdos, and Stalflare smiled as his spell took effect, and two Stalfos appeared from the sands, totally under his command, to start doing battle with the gibdos ferociously. Stalflare knew that his Stalfos wouldn't be strong enough to defeat the gibdos on their own, but by the time the enemy had gotten free of them, he and Link would be out of sight, and off across the desert again.

* * *

However, even as Link and Stalflare fled, a figure watched them from far away, staring down into an oasis that had been transformed by his magic into a scrying pool, out in the desert, just north of the fortress that he'd claimed for his own.

The being's name was Nyarokai, and he was a desert spirit-master. In his life, he'd communed with the sand spirits so well, that they did what he said to a degree, and in death, his powers had been increased a hundredfold. The spells he'd cast on himself in more recent years had made him a true immortal, and he no longer feared any opponent, but his greatest strength was in his familiarity with the desert spirits. He could enter a desert area totally new to him, and within a few days, be its only master.

Nyarokai had already been residing in that desert for almost two days, and he could feel his powers growing every second. He could use the power of the desert spirits for controlling sands, for summoning undead soldiers, and mutating naturally-occurring wildlife into his servants, but there was also a side-effect to controlling such a large territory.

The passage of the spirits through his body increased his strength, and changed the composition of his muscles into a pale, durable substance, which had such great power, that the grinding of his muscles together for something as simple as tightening his fist caused shock waves in the atmosphere.

Slowly, Nyarokai stood, his power still building, and his care growing in response. He reached for a long, black robe, which was hung on one of the walls, and draped it over himself. The vibrations of his muscles seemed to stop as he did so, because that robe had been designed to dampen all vibrations coming from within it.

"I'll certainly need it." Nyarokai thought to himself, "Especially since I'm still only at half strength."

* * *

As Link and Stalflare fled across the desert as quickly as they could, the sense of worry building in Link's heart grew, as if something truly horrible were watching them from nearby, but it took a while before he was sure of what was happening, and the moment that he realized the truth, Link stopped right where he was.

At first, Stalflare couldn't tell why Hyrule's hero had stopped running, but then, Link started to dig the gemstones out of his bag, and held them out for Stalflare to take. When he did that, Stalflare really started to feel scared, because there was a look of deep severity in Link's eyes.

"We're being followed." Link said gravely, as Stalflare took the gems from him, "Get these to Nabooru. I'll see if I can slow our enemies down."

Stalflare didn't like that idea, but after all that he and Link had been through together, he didn't question it either. Immediately, he started to run on ahead, but he hadn't gone more than three yards, before massive sandstorms began to erupt from the desert floor. Soon, high winds had surrounded the two champions, flinging both of them into the air with their sheer force.

In almost no time at all, another sandstorm had appeared, depositing a figure on the ground. The figure wasn't very large or powerful-looking; in fact, he was no taller than Link, but he was clearly responsible for the sandstorms, and the monsters they'd needed to fight up to that point, and he was shrouded almost completely in a black robe and hood.

"My powers may not be at their peak yet," the figure said, his voice still sounding incomplete and terrifying, "but I won't let you contact a goddess of any sort."

Even as he heard those words, Stalflare could feel magic beyond anything that even Ganondorf had ever mastered surrounding him. As a wizard, he could sense the level of complexity that was involved in the spells that their new enemy was using. What he still couldn't sense, however, was the true extent of their foe's power, and he was scared to even guess why that was.

It could have meant that their enemy was such a talented sorcerer, that he could hide his power, even from the best wizards, but then again, it could have meant that his power was simply too vast, and that Stalflare couldn't have guaged its full extent, any more than he could have guaged the full size of the world. Needless to say, neither of those possibilities were terribly comforting.

In seconds, the being's spell had taken effect, and the sand that surrounded Stalflare had transformed into a series of thick chains; seemingly made solid only by that creature's will, and in seconds, those chains had bound Stalflare to the ground.

However, it didn't seem like quite as much effort had been needed to hold Link in place. He was already having a hard time standing up, just because he was so exhausted from a combination of simple dehydration, and the amount of magic that he'd been using recently. Link didn't even seem to have the strength to cry out, for the moment, but Stalflare spoke desperately, looking for some advantage, or some piece of information that might bring them just a little closer to victory.

"Who are you?" the gerudo wizard gasped out, though the chains were rapidly making it impossible to defend himself at all anymore.

"My original name was Nyarokai." the creature said, stepping calmly forth from one of the sandstorms, "I'm spirit-ruler of this desert, and any desert I enter. The spirits of barren lands like this one make it easy to summon my minions, and to control certain natural elements, such as the very sand beneath your feet. However, what's even more impressive is that my knowledge of magic spells, combined with my undead nature makes me both immortal and unnaturally strong."

As he said that, Nyarokai gripped Link by the neck in one gloved hand, and lifted him from the ground with seemingly no effort at all. For a few moments, Link could feel the grip of those fingers, capable of crushing rocks, tightening on his neck, and in that instant, the Hero of Time realized the extent of his foe's power.

"I'm close to attaining my full power now," Nyarokai said, "and when I do, this cloak won't be enough to contain it. I have a suit of armor, which I use to dampen my excess physical power, so that I don't have to worry about harming my own minions through the sheer might of my presence, but you won't live to see it. Suffice to say, I'm currently in possession of over half my full strength, and within an hour, I'll have the rest."

That last mad speech had only deepened Stalflare's pre-existing fears, but on Link, who'd seemed worried when the encounter had begun, no fearful expression surfaced. Instead, Stalflare was shocked to see, he could only read sadness on Link's face. A moment later, Link spoke to Nyarokai directly, though his voice sounded mostly like a series of gasps, and he really sounded more miserably than furious.

"Why can't you let go of your bitterness, Nyarokai?"

At once, Nyarokai threw Link to the sand in a violent, sweeping motion, and he felt the sand underneath him shift in response to the terrible impact. He also felt severe bruises and deep injuries starting to form all over one of his arms, and one of his legs.

By that point, Link could tell that he wouldn't be able to walk any further, except by leaning on someone. He couldn't think of any time in the past where he'd been in a worse position, physically, but he knew that Nyarokai had a weakness, and regardless of the risk, he wanted to take advantage of that weakness.

"I am NOT bitter!" Nyarokai exclaimed, that single phrase having drawn out a bottomless rage from within him, "I am all-powerful! I am invincible!"

"Rubbish." Link gasped, coughing blood into the sand, as he lay in the desert, helpless before his enemy, "You only say that because your arrogance is the only thing that keeps you going. An all-powerful person would be able to control their powers without some robe or armor. I know the truth, though. You feel even more helpless than us."

As Link said those words, a change came over the face of Nyarokai. He still seemed to be reacting with hate in his eyes, but the self-confidence that had been there before seemed, for a moment, to become transparent, as though the undead spirit-lord's very soul had been bared for all to see.

"I can't imagine how horrible you must feel." Link continued, pressing his only real advantage, "To be capable of feats no mortal has dared to dream of, but to lose, in the process, everything that real mortals value. I was worried about you when I first learned of your existence. I think I might even have envied you, but now, all I can feel for you is pity."

"PITY?" Nyarokai exclaimed, summoning a sandstorm all around him, and causing Link to be blown backwards over a yard by the high winds in his fury, "Do I look pitiful to you?"

"You're as pitiful," Link gasped, through the onslaught of the wind and sand, "as a lonely, little boy who doesn't have any friends. You can fly like a roc, you can hit like a god, but you can never again touch someone you care about, for fear of shattering them in your grip."

"Face it, Nyarokai." Link continued, his expression darkening, "A real god can at least pretend to be human. All you can do is kill. It makes you bitter, Nyarokai, to think of all you've lost, and you express that by trying to rob others of what they care about as well. That's the only reason you could have for agreeing to help invade Hyrule, where everyone is so happy and free..."

As Nyarokai's rage built and built, his power continued to grow, and at that moment, in a burst of emotion, the spirit-lord threw off his robe, and a magnificent suit of bright red armor appeared all around him. Link could tell that Nyarokai had at last reached his full powers, and another thing that he could tell was that before Nyarokai had put on his helmet, Link had seen a single tear crawling down his cheek.

As he had for his entire post-life existence, Nyarokai ignored the truth, and buried himself in conquest and battle! Gripping Link's head in one gauntlet, he let fly with the other, and smashed Link square in the gut with his full, unwieldy strength.

For Stalflare, the next few moments were a blur, as he felt the bonds of sand that covered him loosen, when Nyarokai lost his temper with Link, and a moment after Link was hit by the mighty blow, a blur of blue and green seized Stalflare by the end of his cloak, and he was sent flying through the air like a bullet, rocketing in the direction of the Spirit Temple. The whole time, a wail of bitter anguish could be heard throughout the entire desert, echoing on the high winds of the waterless, barren land.

In moments, however, the sheer velocity and stress caused the gerudo sorcerer to black out.

* * *

Even before he opened his eyes, Stalflare could tell that he was on his back in the sand, and when he sat up and looked around, he could see that he was resting under the shadow of the Spirit Temple, with an icy cold sensation all over his face, and bizarre, gasping noises coming from nearby.

His whole body felt like it had been shattered into a million pieces, and then stitched back up again. There was a residual ache through all of his bones, as though he'd been in terrible pain moments before, but couldn't really remember it.

At once, Stalflare tried to brace his arms against the ground, but returned them to their previous position almost as quickly, when he heard a small, out-of-breath shriek from his left side.

"Do you mind?" asked a tiny, high-pitched, and very irritated voice, "Give us time to get out of the way first. This is why I thank Farore I never have to sleep. People completely lose their senses when they first wake up."

Stalflare gave the fairy about thirty seconds, then braced his arms against the sand, and sat up. Around him lay three fairies; one male, two female, and all of them had apparently expended almost all of their magical power in healing him, because they were only glowing faintly. Additionally, they were gasping for breath, like people who've run a marathon, and even Stalflare felt a little sorry to see them so badly weakened, even though he never would have admitted it aloud.

"No need to thank us." One of the fairy girls gasped out sarcastically, "We'll recover. Besides, it needed to be done. You were a real mess when we got here."

Of course, that was more than Stalflare cared to hear about, even if there hadn't been anything else to occupy his thoughts. From what he'd seen, Link must have been blown to bits by their enemy's attack. Stalflare couldn't possibly have imagined a mere mortal surviving an attack that could produce shock waves like the kind he'd seen.

It would have been a lie to say that Stalflare felt no grief over what had just happened, but it was going to be even worse for Hyrule. After all, Link had seemed like he'd had some kind of plan for defeating the undead, and with him gone, that plan was meaningless.

Worse yet, Stalflare still needed to find the gemstones, and use them to restore Gerudi's power, in the hope that she might be able to help him against Nyarokai. After what he'd just gone through, Stalflare wasn't under any illusions about his chances against the spirit-lord without the help of a goddess.

Of course, before Stalflare could worry about any of that, he knew that he needed to get his bearings, and come to grips with the kind of situation that he'd found himself in. That meant figuring out what had caused the icy cold feeling that had woken him up to begin with, first of all, and he didn't have to look very far to find that answer. A nearby piece of tree-bark had been frozen inside a collection of ice crystals, and was sitting on the ground nearby, next to...

Stalflare blinked several times, trying to clear his vision. He was completely dumbfounded by what he was seeing in front of him, but there was no denying the facts.

Link; the Hero of Time, was leaning against a boulder, which had been just slightly outside of Stalflare's field of vision, and he was holding a thick, wooden bow in his hands, and looking, Stalflare thought, very pleased with himself. He couldn't think of any other reason for the broad smile that was spreading across the Hero of Time's face.

Of course, in reality, Link had other reasons for smiling like that; one of the greatest being that Stalflare had finally managed to wake up again. After all he'd been through, that was no meager accomplishment.

"I was worried you'd never wake up again." Link admitted in a tone of great relief, "Given how fast we were going, though, I'm not surprised."

"But..." Stalflare stammered in awe and confusion.

"Don't worry about the gems." Link continued, "Nabooru has them now. She's taken them into the Spirit Temple."

"But you..." Stalflare continued in absolute shock, "and he... and I..."

"The fairies healed my injuries before they got to you," Link tried to explain, "I didn't want them too, but they said yours weren't life-threatening. I'm sorry."

By that point, however, Stalflare's face had turned absolutely white, in spite of the tan color of his flesh, and he started shouting at the top of his lungs, almost as if in blinding fury, "HOW ON EARTH DID YOU SURVIVE THAT BLOW? HOW DID WE GET HERE? WHAT'S GOING ON?"

When Stalflare started to lose his temper, Link's composure slipped as well, and he stepped a bit to one side in surprise and dismay, but soon, he'd recovered, after noticing that Stalflare was really more confused than angry, and started smiling again, as he began his explanation.

"Well, you see," Link began, "When I got thrown to the sand, it broke my leg. I knew I wouldn't be able to make it back to the Spirit Temple under my own power, even if we could get away from Nyarokai, so I realized that if I wanted to succeed, I had to use someone else's power to get here."

"When I felt Nyarokai's hand around my neck," Link continued, "I realized just how strong he was, so I kept him busy with talk, and got him angry enough to use every ounce of that power on me at once, while I crawled between him and the temple. When he hit me, I went flying across the desert towards the temple, and since you were in the same direction, I grabbed you on the way, and brought you with me."

"You're not answering my first question." Stalflare insisted, though he'd calmed down a bit, and was starting to look more cynical, and less furious than he had been a moment before, "How did you survive? If a punch is powerful enough to send you flying across the desert, surely it could kill you."

"Normally, yes." Link admitted, looking away from Stalflare for a moment, "It could have spread me out all across the desert, but I was using a spell that's served me well on a few occasions. I'll have to teach it to you some time. It's called 'Nayru's Love.'"

"The spell creates a barrier around the caster," Link explained with a smile, "which is pretty much invulnerable for a short amount of time. That protected me from most of the damage of Nyarokai's punch, and it's also what gave me the chance to land relatively safely, and mostly cushion your landing too."

"It protected you from most of the damage?" Stalflare asked curiously, "In other words, the barrier isn't totally invulnerable."

"Not to the gods, and other god-like individuals, it seems." Link concluded, "The fairies say that I had some pretty nasty bruises in the center of my stomach, but it wasn't any worse, as I understand it, than the kind I'd get from being kicked by a normal hylian."

It was one of the most amazing things that Stalflare had ever seen or heard, but sure enough, it had happened before his very eyes. The Hero of Time had confronted a force powerful enough to shake the desert, and somehow emerged alive, even though it hadn't seemed possible.

Link's power was a little odd, and it hardly seemed as dynamic and terrifying as the kind that Nyarokai possessed, but in the end, it looked like Link was getting results, claiming victory after victory, and that, Stalflare realized, was what really mattered, because for probably the first time since Stalflare had been just a little boy, he was starting to feel hope in his heart; like things might just work out after all.

For him, it was a strange feeling, but the more he watched Link work, the stronger that feeling grew, and it gave him a reason to work even harder, to do his own part to make things work out. It felt glorious and uplifting.

Stalflare had managed to get his breathing back under control by that point, and was putting on his cloak, which had been placed on a nearby rock while the fairies did their work, but just then, the two adventurers heard the voice of one of Nabooru's guards, coming from the direction of the Spirit Temple, where the ritual of the gemstones was probably being conducted by that point.

"You're both awake? Good. Queen Nabooru wanted me to tell you that if you're healthy enough, you should report to the Spirit Temple to watch the awakening of Gerudi, and consider yourselves honored."

Link seemed a little confused by that statement, but of course, it was an honor to watch the awakening of Gerudi, given that no Hylian had ever been present for any of the previous awakenings. In fact, there was no one left alive who could remember what Gerudi had looked like in her true form. To finally witness her rebirth into the world after so long was a high honor indeed, even though both Link and Stalflare had done a great deal to earn that honor.

As Stalflare and Link stepped out from behind the rocks, and into full view of the Spirit Temple, they were both stunned by the multicolored light being spread in all directions by the three magic gemstones, which had been placed into the stone head of the Spirit Temple, as if they'd been set into a small, thin crown.

Link and Stalflare gazed in awe at the massive temple, carved in the shape of a beautiful, gerudo woman, seated in intense meditation. Nonetheless, however, Link's eyes turned away from the splendid sight, when he heard the voice of Nabooru, addressing them from closer to the temple.

"Excellent!" Nabooru exclaimed, the moment that she'd caught sight of Hyrule's champions, "You're awake. Gerudi should be able to emerge at any moment, and if the legends are true, it's going to be quite a sight."

However, almost at the very moment that Nabooru said that, a cloud of dust covered the area, and the ground began to shake. As Link and the gerudo watched in awe, the stone of the Spirit Temple began to crack in places, shaking loose bits of rock and cascades of sand, which had been wedged into cracks in the temple's construction for hundreds of years.

However, while the gerudo mainly watching in amazement, Link was horrified. The Spirit Temple was an essential part of the gerudo heritage, and before his very eyes, it seemed to be crumbling.

"No!" Link exclaimed, letting Nabooru see how upset he was for a moment, "You didn't say the Spirit Temple was going to be destroyed!"

However, Nabooru didn't look the least bit worried, and in just another moment, she told him why.

"Look again, Hero of Time." Nabooru replied with a satisfied smile, "It's not being destroyed."

As the Spirit Temple continued to shake, and pour sand from its joints, it cracked in a few more places, and slowly, with almost god-like patience, the stone figure of the beautiful gerudo that made up the temple itself began to move under its own power.

The whole group of mortals watched in exhilaration, as the enormous, stone figure rose to her feet, until she towered above them all, at over a hundred feet high. It was an incredible miracle, and it filled Link with even more awe than ever, but he finally understood what was happening. The Spirit Temple wasn't merely the gateway for the sand goddess; it was her physical body.

The stone giantess opened her eyes with a loud noise, like rock being torn apart, shaking loose another torrent of sand as Link realized the truth, and in a voice like thunder, she made an announcement to all of the people gathered there.

"I am relieved to finally return to the desert that is my home, but I am afraid that the invader named Nyarokai is now impervious to all mortal harm." the sand goddess said, "To even recite the incantation to undo that immortality requires a supernatural tongue, but you may listen, if you wish, even if you cannot use this magic yourselves."

At once, the mighty Gerudi raised both arms to the heavens, causing a gust of wind, which forced everyone to brace themselves, and began to utter words which were, even to Link, unpronounceable. At that very moment, a vicious sandstorm erupted from the ground at Gerudi's feet, and from the swirling sands, there came a voice; filled with both malice and fear.

"What? My immortality! What have you done?"

Almost instantly, the voice and presence of Nyarokai were gone again, and the enormous Gerudi began to speak once more, in a language that mere mortals could understand.

"He is vulnerable now, but he may still be too strong for you. I will fight this foolish invader alone."

"No." Link muttered under his breath, as he ran his fingers along the hilt of his sword, "You won't be alone."

* * *

Silently, Nyarokai flew across the desert on the very winds themselves. His foes had survived, his immortality had been stolen, and in the blink of an eye, the balance of power in the desert was once again in question.

The more he thought about the sand goddess that had opposed him, the more he was overwhelmed by a cascade of confusing emotions, and the last and most intense of those was rage. Nyarokai was full of rage, over the fact that she'd chosen to fight by the side of the mortals; rage that she'd gotten in his way; rage that she couldn't have...

Rage at her; rage at all of them!

"This changes everything," Nyarokai realized grimly, "but if I annihilate them all, I'll still regain my immortality."

Soon, traveling faster than any horse, bird or arrow, Nyarokai sped eastward on the wings of the wind, towards the entrance to Gerudo Valley.

* * *

As the gerudo archers continued to fire at the insectoid enemies attacking them from outside of their fortress, an enormous sandstorm seemed to descend from the very sky, to touch down right in the center of Gerudo Valley. The remaining healthy gerudo coughed and sputtered, as sand was kicked up in their faces, unleashing an armored figure into the very center of their stronghold.

In one single, swift gesture, Nyarokai waved his hand across the sky, and in moments, it was filled with rocks of huge sizes and jagged shapes, gathered or constructed from all over the desert. Then, he slammed his armored fist into his palm, and at once, the boulders began to rain down upon Gerudo Valley in a deadly shower.

"Everyone retreat to the stone arch!" one of the archers yelled, and recognizing the value of the plan, they all abandoned the gate and retreated.

Nyarokai simply stood there in his armor, letting out a long, hollow laugh. In a single moment, he'd overwhelmed the defenders of the gates, and he had every intention of killing them all next.

Quickly, Nyarokai reached into the sand with one hand, and seized a handful of the hot, white grains. Then, with a single, swift motion, he slammed his hands together. Grains of sand flew in all directions away from him like bullets, putting holes in rock walls and buildings alike, and heading straight for the helpless, retreating gerudo as well.

However, just as the deadly force of the spirit-lord was about to devastate the gerudo, a figure appeared, glowing bright blue, and leaping down from one of the rock walls surrounding the exit to Gerudo Valley. With lightning speed, the figure dashed back and forth across the Valley exit, catching the fast-moving sand bullets with its own body, and at last, the blue glow that had surrounded that figure subsided, and everyone could see that it was Link.

Once again, Nayru's Love had protected the Hero of Time from the attacks of an opponent immeasurably stronger than himself, and that time, the spell, and his own impressive speed had saved all the gerudo as well.

"You again?" Nyarokai gasped in fury, "You know you can't beat me alone. Why do you keep trying?"

"It's a little thing called an ideal!" Link barked back, tired, but not exhausted, "Things like mercy, loyalty, respect for all life and the freedom of people to live by their beliefs. They're things we live by in Hyrule, and they're more than worth dying for!"

With that, Link drew his sword and charged in, slicing one way and another, struggling to find an opening in Nyarokai's defenses, until at last, he was able to shove his weapon through a joint in his enemy's armor.

The sword shook like a tuning fork as it stuck out of the creature's arm, and for Link, the pain was terrible, but he held on tight, and persisted in moving the sword even further, until he felt something important sever, and just as swiftly as he could, he withdrew, sword and all.

"You! You broke my arm, you simpleton!" Nyarokai yelled out, and as one of his arms went limp, he raised the other to the sky, shouting "Now you're dead!"

All across the desert, the skies darkened, as sandstorms erupted, blocking out the sun! Insects and Gibdos seemed almost to spring from the ground, as though they'd buried themselves in the sand for just such an occasion. Link readied his weapon, to fight as many as possible, but they were monstrous odds to face.

Suddenly, however, another shadow was cast over Gerudo Valley, and everyone looked up, to see the enormous, stone face of Gerudi, twisted into an expression of righteous anger, and scowling down at the creature that had attempted to seize control of her desert for himself.

For the first time since Link had first met him, Nyarokai's sorrow seemed to abate, but before more than a few seconds were up, he'd consciously replaced that relief with rage, and rushed to the attack!

* * *

Gerudi's form was made of stone, and as such, weighed more than Nyarokai, but she was still moving almost as fast as Link himself. He could tell that the divine strength of the goddess was considerable, and the reach on her punches and kicks made up for the fact that she didn't quite have the speed of her opponent.

Nyarokai was leaping hundreds of feet at a time, as he struck out with his working arm and legs in an attempt to damage his stone opponent, but his blows were anticipated and deflected by the back of the mighty goddess's wrists.

Suddenly, a sandstorm erupted underneath Nyarokai, and he'd taken flight, and was no longer simply leaping, but soaring; even zipping through the air like a mosquito, searching for a place to bite, and Gerudi was having just as tough of a time keeping up with him as Link would have with a bothersome insect.

Before long, Nyarokai had delivered a blow right to the center of Gerudi's back, causing her to fall over the wall to Gerudo Valley, crushing, in the process, many of the creatures that her opponent had summoned. She hated to have to resort to it, especially since he'd used only a few of his abilities so far, but she knew she needed to cast another spell.

Placing her right hand on her forehead, Gerudi muttered a three-second incantation, and soon, her entire body glowed bright purple. At once, she assumed a fighting stance that resembled the one that Link had seen Ganondorf use, when shrugging off his Light Arrows, and he knew she was preparing to use one of her powers.

From that stance, Gerudi clapped both hands together, faced forward, and at once, the air of the desert changed direction, knocking the airborne Nyarokai off-balance, and into one of the stone walls surrounding the valley. At once, Gerudi was on top of him, pinning him to the stone with one hand, and clubbing him soundly with the other.

Before Gerudi's blow even connected, however, Link knew that it was going to mean trouble. Anticipating the impending problem, he shoved his mirror shield into the sand in front of the arch, with such force, that it stood there by itself, and it was a good thing that it did.

"Everyone get behind the arch!" Link shouted at the top of his lungs, "My shield should deflect most of this onslaught!"

The words were well-chosen, because an onslaught was precisely what it was. Gerudi's punch had split Nyarokai's armor wide open, and the wind and clouds were once again moving away from his position, as terrible vibrations bathed the mirror shield, shattering small, nearby rocks, and creating gale force winds in all directions.

By that time, however, Nyarokai had finished smashing through the rock wall behind him, and had emerged on top of it, having just tunneled through several tons of dirt and sand. However, he was also feeling horrified at that point, because a thin stream of blood was trickling down his lip.

"If only you were favoring us, instead of these mortals." Nyarokai shouted to his opponent, with a terrible sadness in his voice, "I could have... I mean..."

Then, the spirit-lord was full of rage again, and flying back towards Gerudi, but that time, he'd attacked in a worse anger than before, and because of that, he didn't notice that the airborne sand, which he'd been using as a sort of smokescreen through most of the fight, wasn't disguising his position anymore.

Just like that, another element of the desert had slipped from his control, and with a wide swing, Gerudi swatted Nyarokai to the ground. Seconds later, in a voice more beautiful than any possessed by any mortal woman, Gerudi spoke to her enemy again, and her words sounded almost compassionate.

"You may seek to disguise your feelings from the mortals, Nyarokai, and perhaps even from Link, but not from me. I am the real reason you came to this desert, and I am the only one who could make your journey worthwhile. I could give you any of the things you desire, or I could end your unlife right here, and lay you to rest, with all the other mortals who ever slid over a sand dune."

"You?" Nyarokai almost scoffed as he heard Gerudi's words, "I'm here to aid the dark lord in purging the living from this land. Why would I care about an immortal like you?"

"You fear that answer, Nyarokai." Gerudi responded, as she pulled back, to deliver another blow, "Do not ask that question."

Her punch buried itself in the sand, however, because Nyarokai was airborne again, and slugged the goddess right in the face, taking off a small section of the stone that made up her cheek.

"I don't fear answers!" the spirit-lord yelled in rage, "The only thing I fear is those powerful enough to destroy me. I may fear your power; but I don't want... I mean..."

When he said those words, however, Nyarokai seemed to be stuttering, and losing track of what he'd wanted to say, in the face of the truth. As he stammered, Gerudi saw an opening in her enemy's defenses, and delivered a terrible backhand to him, that caused him to go flying through yet another stone wall.

* * *

As all of that was going on, gibdos continued to emerge from the sand, but only the ones behind the stone arch survived the vibrations of Nyarokai's mere presence, and Stalflare had little difficulty burning the surviving gibdos to cinders with the smallest portion of his magic powers.

"How long can you keep that up?" Link asked the mage curiously.

"How long can you keep your shield in the ground?" was the reply, as Stalflare caused a wall of flame to rise up and consume a swarm of locusts, which had been trying to ambush them, "After the fight with Mazar, and our last fight with these cretins, I can feel my powers growing stronger; almost as though their own insufficiency in the past has helped to focus them even further."

Stalflare could see that a red aura had been forming around Link's left hand, and he could tell that the Hero of Time was also preparing some kind of spell or attack, though as to its nature, Stalflare could only guess.

* * *

The punches and kicks flew like keese out of the underworld, as Nyarokai and Gerudi exchanged blows, each hitting with equal force, and each taking equal damage. Nyarokai's broken arm proved to be something of a problem for him at first, but he was so intent on victory, that he barely felt injured at all.

To top it off, the undead spirit-lord had begun to cause a rain of boulders again, and the sky was darkening further, the more he used his advanced powers. Some kind of dust-like projectile seemed to be shooting out from the pores in his body by that point, but it had no effect on the stone form of Gerudi, and the others were still being protected by Link's shield.

Through it all, the anger of both combatants burned fiercely; one a warrior-born goddess, the other a undead sorcerer; scarred by his own might. The two battled on for fifteen minutes, before the darkness that had been building in the air around them became truly unnatural. In fact, it had become almost pitch black before long, and there was no doubt, by then, that that darkness was another manifestation of Nyarokai's power.

Gerudi began to miss a little more often in the darkness, and Nyarokai started missing a little less often. However, Gerudi was no fool, and she recognized the truth very quickly; Nyarokai had cast the desert into total darkness, because he could see perfectly well in the dark.

However, just as the tide of battle was turning against the goddess, she touched her forehead again, and began to glow bright red. At once, the darkness vanished almost completely, and in its place was broad daylight; even brighter and sunnier than the day before had been.

Just like that, Gerudi's power over the sun had cut through the darkness, and in that moment of surprise, she'd gained the upper hand, pinning Nyarokai to the ground again.

"Why do you bow before a master?" Gerudi demanded, as she struck out at her foe again, "You have power of your own. Do you truly believe in his cause, or do you actually fear him? Either way, you are a fool!"

In response, Nyarokai grabbed Gerudi's forefinger, and bent it into an unnatural angle, then took flight again, exclaiming, "You can't expect me to tell you anything about the dark lord's nature. His power is even greater than your own, and since he gave me my current life, he could take it away just as easily. Even you wouldn't truly be safe from him."

Nyarokai tried to strike another blow against her, but was blocked with great skill in a fraction of a second.

"The Hero of Time was right." Gerudi said, looking sad for a moment, "You are to be pitied. If you served no master, you could have done anything you wished with your power; even used it to fulfill your greatest desire, but despite all the powers you possess, you are not the mightiest. You are a pitiable creature..."

As she'd been saying that, Gerudi had tossed Nyarokai out into the desert, and leapt after him, nearly landing on him. By that time, she was cracked in many places, and Nyarokai was covered in scrapes and bruises, but still, neither one of them was willing to stop.

"I don't have the freedom to do whatever I want!" Nyarokai seemed almost to sob, "I can't do what I really want to do! All I can do is what I'm commanded to! All I can do is fight you!"

As he exclaimed that, Nyarokai's fist drove itself forward, into Gerudi's chest, and made a rather large hole in her body. Then, gesturing downwards, he caused the desert sands to rise up... To rise up...

Again and again, Nyarokai tried to make the sands rise up to the attack, but they didn't respond to his commands, and in a moment, he could see why. Gerudi was glowing green, and commanding the shifting sands to fight his will. Neither one of them could use the power of the desert sands against the other, and just as Nyarokai was starting to realize that, the stone fist of his opponent knocked him clear across the desert again.

Even the incredible eyesight of Link and Stalflare couldn't have seen what happened next, because the mighty combatants were too far away to be seen by that poor group of mortals anymore, but Nyarokai had landed next to the place where the Spirit Temple had resided just that very morning, and he could tell that he was finished. He'd used every last one of his powers to lash out at Gerudi, but she was just too strong for him. As her shadow passed over him one last time, he could tell that their fight was over.

However, Gerudi seemed to have realized that the fight was finished as well, because she'd seated herself precisely where the Spirit Temple belonged, and the former spirit-lord could see that the cracks in her stone surface were sealing themselves; returning the entire Spirit Temple to what it was meant to be.

It made Nyarokai feel even more miserable, in a lot of ways, to discover that all of his efforts to harm Gerudi in some way had meant so little, and in that moment, he heard her voice again, though it no longer came from the lips of the Spirit Temple, or indeed, any physical body that he could see. It was like a beautiful whisper, and it seemed to be coming from far out in the desert, though it was impossible for him to tell anymore. He couldn't even be sure what it was saying, at first.

Just then, however, another figure began to take shape before Nyarokai's eyes, and he found himself blinking several times; not sure whether he was finally succumbing to a mirage; falling victim to the desert that he'd been master of for so long.

However, if what he was seeing was real; if it wasn't just an image, then Gerudi was definitely approaching him, but she was in a much smaller form than the enormous, hundred-foot temple he'd fought before. He knew she couldn't take the form of real flesh that easily, so he couldn't understand how she could just be standing there in front of him, at the end of his life.

However, as doubts filled Nyarokai's mind, Gerudi moved to stand over him, where he lay in the sand, and looked at him in sorrow that was outlined very clearly in her eyes. In fact, her sorrow was so clear, that after the two had spent only a few moments looking at each other, Gerudi shed a real, wet tear.

"Whether you know it or not," Gerudi said, sounding almost ready to cry, "I've always been there. I saw everything you went through, and everyone you lost to your own uncontrollable power. I saw how you sought the one place where you could exist among people of your own kind, and how your allegiance to your dark lord prevented you from finding it again and again, because you see, you are tied to the desert, and all of those deserts were me."

It was only at that moment that Nyarokai realized the truth about the beautiful woman who was standing over him. One way or another, even while he'd followed the dark lord, Nyarokai had always felt the power of the desert flowing through him, and the person whose power he'd been using had always been her. In a very real sense, she was his mistress, and she always had been.

"My lady," Nyarokai gasped out, finally giving in to despair, "put an end to my suffering."

"All things, living and dead, have their own brand of trials to overcome," Gerudi replied, "and you have faced more than your share in both states. You came to this desert because you hoped for a haven. You fought me today, but deep down, there was only one thing that you wanted."

"I wanted..." Nyarokai gasped, almost afraid to utter the words, even though he no longer had the will that he needed to deny the truth, "I wanted... I just wanted... to surrender... I just wanted to be able to surrender, and be safe in my choice."

"You wanted a haven from your dark master." Gerudi noticed sadly, "You wanted a place where he could never touch you, and yet, a place where you would not be alone."

"A place where I could be... with someone that my presence didn't hurt." Nyarokai finished, "All I ever wanted was someone I could just get to know; maybe even love."

"And now here I am," Gerudi said, with a teary smile, "to take you home with me."

As she said that, Gerudi grabbed Nyarokai by the hand, and slowly, he watched his body rise up, as he descended deeper and deeper into the sands; to the house of the sand goddess herself, and the one place where his mighty spirit could finally find happiness.

* * *

It had been nearly ten minutes since Link and Stalflare had heard anything from either combatant, but both were still ducking behind the shield just in case. However, several minutes after the last of the vibrations had stopped, they both heard the soft, gentle voice of the sand goddess inside their very minds.

"Nyarokai will no longer trouble you, or anyone else. I am sorry that I cannot join you in freeing Hyrule, but I fear that outside the desert, I have no powers. May Din be with you on your quest, as she has been with me."

When he heard that, Link began to smile, as he started to realize a small part of what had happened between those two. It was a bit much for even him to grasp everything that had occurred, but somehow, he felt like things were starting to turn out right.

"What do you suppose she meant by that?" Stalflare asked Link, as the other gerudo held a meeting, to vote on whether to return to the ranch with Link.

"I can't be sure." Link replied, a little confused, but happy for some reason, "Nyarokai and Gerudi are both the sort of people who have more layers to themselves than any mortal man. I guess we might never understand all the things that drove them."

After that, neither of them said another word, as they waited for the gerudo to finish making their decision.

* * *

Note: This chapter covers parts 20-50 in the original format.


	5. P1 Ch5 The Zora War

Note: If you started reading in the original format, look to the bottom of the chapter for a guide on how to find where you left off.

* * *

Chapter 5: The Zora War

* * *

A mere twelve hours after the gerudo had finished their vote, Link and his allies had returned to their base at the ranch, and begun planning their next move. That, at least, seemed to have gone according to plan, although a few things had happened, which had caught Stalflare by surprise. For one thing, Link's appearance had changed again. The aura of green light that had covered his body since their visit to the forest had shifted position, covering only half of him, from the tip of his head, all the way down to the end of his left foot. The other half of his body glowed in a completely different color; a sort of subdued orange.

Stalflare had seen that orange color before, and he knew the significance of it, as well as why Link's aura had changed. That shade of orange was the color of the sacred platforms and altars within the Spirit Temple, and it meant that Link had received the blessing of the Sage of Spirit. Stalflare hadn't been there when it had happened, but he knew when the change had occurred. Link's appearance had been like that all night, and through most of the previous evening. That had been when Queen Nabooru had given Link her blessing, and told him that even in such dangerous times, she couldn't abandon her kingdom, to rush to Hyrule's rescue.

At the time, Stalflare had found himself disagreeing with his queen's decision, which was something that he wasn't accustomed to. He remembered how Nabooru had insisted on remaining behind in Gerudo Valley, with a compliment of her warriors, to try to repel any further invasion attempts into the desert, in spite of the monstrous power they'd just faced, and the near-total devastation they'd narrowly averted.

It almost seemed as if Nabooru didn't understand the real danger that she and her people were being faced with, but, Stalflare had realized after thinking it over for a while, it was much more likely that she was just too proud and paranoid to put all her eggs in one basket, so to speak, even when that basket was someone as reliable as the Hero of Time.

At the very least, Nabooru had agreed to send most of her soldiers to help Link in his efforts, which was almost unheard-of in Gerudo Valley. The gerudo and hylians hardly ever worked together in big military efforts, even when the situation was desperate. It wasn't the ideal situation, in Stalflare's eyes, but at the very least, it was a good sign, and a step in the right direction.

Of course, nothing could have forced Stalflare to abandon Link by that point, even if Nabooru didn't feel like she could work with him. From what he'd seen so far, Link appeared to be both intelligent and trustworthy, considerate of the solidarity appreciated by the gerudo, and also very clever, when it came to developing plans for victory against more powerful enemies.

Stalflare had worked together with Link for only a few days, but during that time, it had seemed as if things were starting to work out. Until something about that trend changed, Stalflare had no intention of breaking his alliance with the Hero of Time. That, and his own contributions to their previous victories, were the main reasons why he and Link were sitting in a gerudo tent that morning, going over some of the ideas that the Hero of Time had come up with.

"Obviously, our next move is going to involve invading enemy territory," Stalflare observed, looking at the younger man from across the wooden taken, while also taking in the map of Hyrule, which they'd spread out in between them, "but we still don't have nearly enough information about the remaining forces of these undead monsters to make any kind of intelligent assault against them. Do you have some plan for another attack, and if so, where will we be attacking them next, and why? Have you been able to find some weak point of theirs yet?"

Link didn't reply to that question too quickly, which told Stalflare that, unfortunately, Link didn't have any more information than he did about their enemies. Still, he seemed to know quite a lot about their allies.

In a glance, Link took in the various allies they'd already managed to gather, going about their business in various sections of camp. The kokiri were there, who for a long time, hadn't even known that the Hylians had existed, fairies, who for the most part, bowed to no master, and gerudo, who'd been stubbornly avoiding any kind of treaty with the Hylians for as long as there had been records of their civilization. There were many untrustworthy faces in that camp, and yet, Link must have known that he needed to be able to trust every last one of them.

Even so, Stalflare could already tell what Link's next decision was going to be. From the looks of things, the Hero of Time was about to surround himself with even more people he couldn't trust.

"We should have a ready invasion force sometime within the next twelve hours." Link finally said, ignoring Stalflare's questions somewhat, "I think our next destination should be the Zora's Domain. If we can reclaim that location, we might be able to get the power of the zoras to back us up, and it'll also make it easier to launch a pincer attack on Hyrule Castle and Kakariko."

It was a risky plan, and both of them knew it. Like Link himself, Stalflare recognized the danger of trying to obtain the help of the zoras after all the tension that had passed between them and the hylians recently, but he also knew that tactically, having the zoras on their side would be an enormous advantage. Physically, the zoras had quite a bit of power. Their importance couldn't just be ignored.

"An interesting suggestion." Stalflare remarked, though his usual cynicism remained just as obvious as ever, "However, there's one problem. It wasn't that long ago that you slew several of their best warriors. What makes you think the zoras will follow you, even if we can rescue a few of them?"

For a few moments, Link was obviously very upset by Stalflare's words, but he wasn't angry with Stalflare in any way. In fact, he looked more sad and ashamed than anything else. At last, however, he shook his worries off, and his next reply to Stalflare was, if not terribly compassionate, then at least practical.

"They won't have much choice." Link said with a frown, "It's us or the undead."

Stalflare grimaced at the absolute and blunt truth of that statement. The war they were involved in wasn't about petty differences in philosophy. It was a fight of life against death, and all living creatures in Hyrule needed to be united, if they wanted to have a chance to win.

So, reassured, but still not overly confident of their chances for success, Stalflare stepped outside a few moments later, to inform their small army that they'd be marching on the Zora's Domain fairly soon. They didn't, after all, have much of an alternative themselves.

* * *

The main entrance to the Zora's Domain was a cave behind a waterfall at the very end of the river that formed Hyrule Castle's moat. A zora could move in and out of that cave with relative ease, since they could have leapt directly in through the waterfall, and back out again without suffering any real harm. To any of Hyrule's other races, entrance wasn't so easily gained, however.

There was an enchantment governing that waterfall, which detected the presence of insignia rings, and the song of the royal family of Hyrule, which served as evidence that a person was a messenger of Hylian royalty. When that enchantment detected a messenger of Hyrule, it caused a large rock at the top of the waterfall to rise up, splitting the waterfall neatly down the middle.

In some ways, it was the perfect security device; elegant in its precision, and Link was glad to have remembered the song of the Royal Family, and to have kept the Fairy Ocarina to play it on, or getting into the Zora's Domain with his small army of soldiers would have been a much bigger challenge.

In moments, Link and his allies had entered the Zora's Domain, and once inside, the majority of them were stunned by the majesty of the place; especially the gerudo, most of whom had never seen so much water in one place before. It was like a giant, stone cavern, half-filled with water, but Link could tell as soon as he entered it that something was deeply wrong.

"A great many zoras have fallen before this pestilence, it would seem." Stalflare commented, as he looked down from their location, to see a few zoras in the large cavern, who were obviously undead.

"It looks that way." Link replied sadly, "Still, we can't give up. There might be a few still left alive, and we need to find them as quickly as possible."

As Link's small army gradually advanced, to confront the amphibious undead, however, it soon became apparent why the zoras were known as the water lords of Hyrule. The undead zoras seemed to shrug off the attacks of the gerudo like mosquito-bites, and struck out with their tridents with incredible force.

On top of it all, the waters of the area sprang up with terrible violence on their own, whenever the undead zoras attacked, almost as though the water itself was protecting those fiends.

Nevertheless, Link and the gerudo fought on. Eventually, Link's forces found that after what seemed like forever, one of the undead zoras collapsed, and then another, and another. As each one fell, the waters began to calm a little more, the result being that a great many gerudo were given the chance to heal one another, and rest from the battle, which they sorely needed after being tossed around so harshly by their larger and more powerful enemies.

In that first battle, however, a small portion of the Zora's Domain was reclaimed, and in that portion, three living zoras were discovered, hiding in a tiny corner, out of fear of the dead ones.

The remaining zoras were obviously terrified. In fact, it took them a few minutes, before they realized that they really were being rescued from the monstrous enemies that had seized control of their domain so suddenly and completely, and it took them a few minutes longer than that, before they understood who'd rescued them and why. Stalflare wasn't surprised by that hesitation, however. It must have been hard to accept that the very people they'd been attacking only recently would turn around and save them from their new enemies.

Still, once the zoras had gotten their bearings, it became obvious that they had a sort of pride of their own, and in spite of the mortal danger they'd recently been in, there was a determination in their faces that Stalflare recognized as being almost like the strong spirits of the gerudo. The zoras took a few moments to talk with one another in private, once they'd regained a full sense of their surroundings, and what Link was trying to accomplish, and soon, one of them addressed Link again, looking very serious as he spoke.

"Hero, we've had disagreements with your people in the past, but right now, our options are limited. Our lord was taken from us not long ago by these fiends, and until we discover his fate, we can't leave our domain. Our loyalty is to him; not to you. Because of that, if he orders us not to assist you, we'll need to obey him. However, if he instructs us to help you, then we'll obey that as well. That's the nature of our chain of command. I can't promise to assist you, because the decision isn't mine to make, but if you help us rescue our lord, you can address your requests to him."

Stalflare couldn't help but think that the attitude of the zoras was just a little arrogant, but at least it was reasonable too. Still, he needed more information, if he was going to help the zoras do anything.

"How will we recognize your lord when we find him?" Stalflare asked one of the Zoras, as they journeyed upwards through the cavern together, "Does he wear some sort of medal that could help us identify him?"

"Our lord will be easier to recognize than that." the Zora replied, "When we decided that the zora king was unfit to lead us into battle, we chose a group of chiefs, who were the largest and the strongest. Many of them have disappeared, most likely killed by these abominations, but our lord is the greatest of us all. He stands a full head over me, and he wields a trident in battle, which is made of magic silver. He's also among the swiftest of all our warriors. If any one fighter can defeat the creatures that hold our domain hostage, it will be him."

Stalflare said nothing in reply to that, however. What was there to be said? Stalflare wasn't sure what kind of powers that zora lord had, but he suspected that they would have appeared microscopic next to those of Nyarokai, or the goddess Gerudi. If the creature dominating that region was anything like what they'd seen before, it wouldn't be a simple task to overcome it by force. They'd probably need some kind of powerful magic to overcome the dead ones who'd invaded Hyrule, and Stalflare could only hope that the zoras had access to something of that nature.

Still, irrelevant thoughts were swept aside, as the group entered the former chamber of the king, because there, they discovered that a small army of undead zoras and zora warchiefs were waiting for them; armed and preparing their magic and weapons alike. Stalflare could indeed tell the difference between the chiefs and their warriors with relative ease, as the chiefs were between six inches to a foot taller than the others, and their weapons were larger and longer.

At once, Stalflare leapt forward, waving his hand across his entire field of vision, and a terrifying inferno was conjured up before them, but just as swiftly, one of the undead zora warchiefs had struck the water with his trident, and the water rose up into a wall in response, which charged directly at Hyrule's defenders, clearly intended to wash them all back down the stone steps behind them.

When the wall of water was no more than a foot from Stalflare's face, however, it stopped in its tracks, and as Stalflare looked around for the source of that odd phenomena, he saw an arrow sticking out of the water only a few feet away, still giving off the mist-like remnants of the icy power that had surrounded it a moment before. Just when the arrow had hit the massive wave, every drop of water in the chamber had turned to ice.

Stalflare had heard of Link's ice arrows, of course. Indeed, they'd first been designed in Gerudo Valley. However, he hadn't thought of using ice magic against the Zoras. Once the idea was put into his head, however, Stalflare began waving his staff back and forth again, attempting to change the properties of his spells for that battle...

For about thirty seconds, the zoras were wedged in place by the frozen water, but all too soon, they'd broken free, and shattered the ice with their tridents. Link had put his sword away, and was fighting almost exclusively with his bow at that point, because as much damage as ice had done to the Zora's Domain in the past, it was their best hope during that battle.

Before long, Stalflare had joined Link, sweeping across the room, from one corner to the next, and firing off freezing bolts wherever he could, aiding their forces in that battle, which would otherwise have been an impossible mismatch.

The gerudo skill in combat was seen very powerfully there, as were the pressure-formed muscles of the zoras. The dead seemed to have more physical power than the living, at the moment, but the living had a will that enabled them to push past their physical limits. They stayed on their feet because they needed to. That was what carried the battle in that royal chamber; the will to live.

The zora chiefs were a problem at first, until Link slew one of them, and Stalflare knocked the other one down on the ice, allowing two living Zoras to impale him with their tridents. At last, after several minutes of fighting, the battle was won.

A couple of the gerudo set up one of their tents in the middle of the former king's room once most of the ice was cleared away. Even Link admitted that a period of rest and healing would be prudent at that point, given the difficulty of that afternoon's battle. However, as soon as he agreed to that, he left the tents of the gerudo, and began ascending the incline to the Zora's Fountain, as if absolutely refusing to join in their rest. Stalflare found that puzzling, and given how the two of them had been working together so much, for so long, it seemed wrong of the Hero of Time to just run off on his own, without a word to any of his allies about why.

"Link?" Stalflare asked, catching up to Hyrule's hero before he could reach the tunnel that led out into the fountain at the far end of the zoras' territory. It wasn't the first time that he'd used the Hero of Time's real name, but it didn't happen often, and it was enough to get Link's attention one more time, despite his hurry in whatever he was doing, "I thought you said it was time for rest. Where in Gerudi's name are you going?"

Link turned to face Stalflare almost at once, but the gerudo wizard could see that a nervous grin had already spread across Link's face, as he started trying to explain himself, which usually meant that Stalflare would have a hard time understanding his reasons.

"The zoras may be stronger and tougher than the hylians, but hylians have better eyesight, and mine is the best there is. That makes me the best person to scout out the terrain ahead, and act as a guide when we move our forces further in tomorrow."

"And if there should happen to be enemy forces ahead?" Stalflare asked critically, raising one eyebrow, "What then?"

"Well, if there are enemy forces, there's a good chance I'll see them before they see me," Link replied, though he didn't exactly look confident when he said that, "and I'll be able to report their presence to you."

Stalflare frowned deeply when he heard that. He hated the idea of Link wandering into unexplored, enemy territory alone, but as he thought about the great minds and powerful fighters they'd gathered already from all over Hyrule, he had to admit that Link was the best of both. If anyone could handle themselves against impossible odds, it was the Hero of Time, and if he did wind up behaving foolishly, and getting himself killed, then the fault would be entirely his.

Still, Stalflare didn't expect him to do anything that foolish. He knew Link too well for that.

"Suit yourself," Stalflare replied back, in a disgusted tone of voice, as he propped his staff up against the side of the nearest tent, and hung his robe over it, just like he always did when he was about to retire, "but this time, you'll have no backup. I'm much too exhausted from that last fight to come to your rescue if you get yourself killed."

Link just smiled again when Stalflare said that, however, and in seconds, without another word, he'd dashed off through the stone passageway, towards the fountain area ahead.

* * *

The next morning, Stalflare woke up relatively early, and was pleased to see that Link was still alive, and still entirely unharmed. As he put on his cloak, and picked up his staff again from where he'd set it down a while ago, he felt that his magic had grown even greater than before, but as always with the gerudo sorcerer, business came first.

"What should we watch out for?" Stalflare asked, as he walked closer to where Link was standing, without so much as a "good morning" escaping his lips.

Link winced a little, as he turned to face Stalflare. They'd spent a whole afternoon, and much of the night in that place, but Link had been up long before any of the others, including Stalflare. That wasn't too unusual, but Stalflare had thought that Link's journey into the enemy's territory might have altered that a bit. Nothing of the sort, it seemed, had occurred.

Link was still doing his best to stay several steps ahead of everyone else, though Stalflare still couldn't tell why, exactly. It was possible that he simply derived some kind of pleasure from knowing more than other people did about their own problems. Then again, maybe he really did just want to help his people as best he could, and his tendency to outdo others in various ways was entirely unintentional and innocent.

"We need to make our plans very carefully." Link said without looking Stalflare in the eye, "There's some kind of creature up ahead that looks like an octorock with flat tentacles. I think that might be the same creature that Nalabal warned us about. I had the chance to see it fight a little bit last night, though. It was battling the zora lord when I arrived, but it was a very impressive mismatch. I don't even think I could beat it alone."

After what he'd seen of the undead champions so far, Stalflare wasn't two surprised by that. After all, they'd fought with two before then, and Link couldn't have beaten either one of them without large amounts of help. Still, it was a bad situation, and Stalflare wasn't really certain what to do next.

"So what do you suggest?" Stalflare asked, worry spreading across his face.

"I've been tossing plans around in my head for most of yesterday afternoon." Link admitted, looking thoughtfully at the floor of the zora throne room as he spoke, "Whatever plan we use, a lot is going to depend on the element of surprise, but their warlord punctured the hide of that monster with his weapon, and the wound didn't heal. That tells me this thing can still be injured, unlike Nyarokai."

"So it can be beaten, but it won't be easy." Stalflare noted in interest, "Let's discuss specifics, then. Since you've seen this thing fight before, you must have some ideas for ways to overpower it. What kinds of strategies have you been considering?"

* * *

A few hours later, the plan of attack had been chosen, and the forces of Hyrule had been divided into groups. Link marched further into the Zora's Fountain at the front of their small compliment of zora allies first, while Stalflare remained at the entrance to the Zora's Fountain with the kokiri and fairies. As the healers of the group, it was their task to move in only when they felt they could keep the warriors alive longer, or heal those who'd already fallen. Link and the zoras were planning to make the first strike on their own.

Link approached their new enemy carefully, trying to remain unseen for as long as possible. He'd only seen the strange being from a distance before, so moving in closer gave him the opportunity to look into its round, black eyes for a moment, and as soon as he did, it started staring back at him, its head looking almost like a hylian skull from certain angles.

That really gave Link a shiver; not because of the hideousness of the creature, because he'd definitely seen uglier beasts, but because there was a terrible story hidden in those eyes. It was a story of horrible wrongs, and plans with good intentions, which came to nothing. It was a tale of a species with wills so indomitable, that only the imprisonment of those wills could make them vulnerable to control or corruption.

The tale ended very abruptly, and it was evident that there was quite a lot which that creature didn't know about its own past, and the past of its race, but the last image that Link got from that beast's gaze was a truly heart-wrenching one. There was a warrior's spirit, not unlike Link's, chained up in a dark, clammy place, struggling constantly and forever against a force that it couldn't defeat, but would never, ever surrender to.

The image filled Link with such sadness and rage, that for a moment, he stopped caring whether the others had gotten into position yet. Yanking out his bow, he fitted an ice arrow across it, and let it fly towards the head of his foe.

The creature didn't seem any faster than Link, but its tentacles were swift enough to knock his arrow aside in mid-flight, and it sustained only a small amount of damage from the touch of the ice arrow. By that point, however, it had noticed where he was.

At once, its face had twisted into an even more horrific contortion of rage and arrogance, except for its eyes. The creature's eyes remained the same, still telling the same tale of tragedy and loss that they had before.

Link almost thought he heard the creature shouting that its name was Octagious, and that it was the greatest of an entire nation of marine warriors, but that didn't matter to the Hero of Time anymore. He could tell that that beast had experienced terrible sorrow, and that the sorrow it was causing in Hyrule was somehow being imposed upon it. Most importantly, he could tell that it had to be dealt with that very moment; finished off with swift judgment. It had to be stopped, so that the Zora's Domain would be free, and in freeing them, it was just possible that Link might also be freeing the soul of that creature as well.

Giving a wave to the zoras behind him, Link dashed back away from the swarm of tentacles that were attacking from Octagious' position. Soon, the zoras touched their tridents to the water in the fountain, and individual jets of powerful water seemed to zip forward, strong and fast enough to crack rocks.

For a few moments, Octagious was pushed back, but soon, he seemed to start drawing the water in from underneath him, and firing it out of the tips of his tentacles, and that countered the attacks of the Zoras for a short time. As soon as he started to press his attack again, however, Link whistled long and loud!

The stone walls that surrounded the Zora's Fountain were only accessible to those who were already proficient climbers, and only from the waterfall area, with lots of equipment, but by the time Link gave his signal, the tips of those walls were lined with gerudo archers, and all at once, arrows rained down on Octagious from all directions.

The thick, sharp arrows stuck in the undead creature's tentacles, and in his flesh, and for a short time, he seemed to be close to collapsing, but then, he began to spin, drawing in even more water, and firing it out in all directions, high and low. The gerudo were forced to duck behind the rock wall again, to keep from being knocked off their perches by those powerful bursts of water. As they were pushed back, however, the zoras renewed their assault, refusing to give the undead conqueror even an inch of leeway.

The battle continued in that way for a while; back and forth, with the injured retreating to Stalflare's group for healing, until the zoras were too tired to continue expending their magic, and the gerudo were pinned down by the continual assault. When that happened, Link dashed forward again, glowing with a blue light, and swatted aside the blasts of water that seemed to be coming his way with the blade of his sword. Then, he drove his weapon into the chest of the monster several times over, and jumped back, watching as flames seemed to erupt from the place he'd just been.

As the flames touched Octagious, they dissipated, as if doused with water in mid-air, but a change was occurring in the undead creature. The more he fought, the smaller and more wrinkled he seemed to become. That indicated a weakness, and the intense heat of Din's Fire that had been Link's last attack had been even more successful at shriveling their tragic enemy. At once, Link swung his weapon around again, severing the two tentacles nearest to him, and drove it with all his force into the creature's body one more time, burying it up to the hilt, so that it protruded from the other side of the vicious beast.

At last, the undead creature had returned to its natural state, and its unnatural motion finally ceased. It had been a hard-won victory, but it certainly seemed to be a victory nonetheless. Link had to admit that as hard as that battle had been, the beast that the alliance of life had just slain had been practically nothing compared to what they'd already faced, however.

* * *

Over the course of the next few minutes, the remains of the creature's body were gradually removed from the fountain area, as Link watched carefully, still thinking about the other problem that he needed to worry about, and it was only because he was so alert, that he noticed the sound of another struggle going on inside a nearby cave.

He never would have noticed while fighting with an enemy as loud and powerful as Octagious, but there was a hollow cave in the fountain, which, at the moment, was blocked off by a boulder, and there were sounds of groaning and struggling from behind that large, heavy-looking rock.

Swiftly, Link rushed to the cave, and yanked aside the boulder, to see that an undead zora and three stalfos were struggling to kill a badly-wounded zora chief inside of that cave. In seconds, Link had hurled the boulder at the undead zora, and slashed apart the stalflos with relative ease, then, seeing how badly injured the large zora was, he started shouting across the fountain to one of his allies.

"Stalflare! There's a wounded zora here! He needs help!"

The zora was barely breathing by the time Stalflare got to him, but the gerudo wizard's skill had only become greater during his journeys with Link. Soon, the zora's chest began to rise and fall again like normal, and with almost his very first breath, he muttered to himself in seemingly-offended surprise.

"Hylians?" he gasped out, "Here?"

"There's no time for feuds among the living." Link replied firmly, shaking his head as he tried to discourage the zora lord from trying to get up, "I'm back, and I've brought an army. Honestly, I don't think either of us have a chance for survival, unless we work together. I've just killed the monsters that were holding you prisoner in your own domain, and now, I need your help to defeat the ones threatening Hyrule as well. As an emissary of Hyrule, I humbly request that you agree to a military alliance against our mutual enemies."

The Zora lord frowned deeply when Link said that, but he must have realized the truth. There was no real arguing with what Link had just suggested. He seemed to almost growl, however, a moment later, when he replied.

"I'm not satisfied, Hero of Time. After what happened at the river's mouth, I still think you have a lot to answer for, and I begrudge being in debt to any hylian. I don't like you, or your people, and I don't feel like I can trust you."

"In that case," Link replied, all pretense of humility disappearing as he replied to the zora lord with a stern expression on his face, "I may as well let you know that I don't like you either. You were the one who ordered the invasion of Hyrule Castle. You wanted to start a war between our peoples, for the purpose of violating our sacred traditions, and I can't understand that. Frankly, just thinking about it makes me want to cut you in two, right where you stand, but right now, I recognize that my feelings aren't what really matters. I'll put aside my feelings until these undead are defeated. Will you?"

For a few moments, the zora lord had an ugly sneer on his face, but finally, he nodded, though it didn't make him look any more pleasant.

"Yes." he said, "To save my people, I'd even ally myself with Ganondorf, but once this is over, no promises."

"I thought so." Link pondered silently, as he gave the zora lord another nod, and prepared to pack up and return to the ranch, where, hopefully, his base still stood. Link wasn't smiling as his small army left the Zora's Domain, to retreat to Lon Lon Ranch, but then, neither was anyone else. They'd come through a lot, but Link couldn't help but worry that even worse complications and greater enemies awaited them in the future. He could only hope that they wouldn't be faced with anything that they absolutely couldn't do, or any truly overwhelming forces, or else, all of Hyrule might end up dead.

* * *

Note: This chapter covers parts 51-60 in the original format.


	6. P1 Ch6 Death and Thunder

Note: If you started reading in the original format, look to the bottom of the chapter for a guide on how to find where you left off.

* * *

Chapter 6: Death and Thunder

* * *

As usual, Link was already up by the time Stalflare woke the next day, giving short instructions to the forces gathered in the ranch. As Stalflare looked around, he could see not only the small tree sprout that the fairies and kokiri had constructed, and the war tent that the gerudo had pitched the night before last, but a pool of about nine feet deep, apparently built by the remaining zoras. Inside the pool, interestingly-enough, was a collection of over a dozen small, round zora eggs. It seemed as if the pool, therefore, must have been a sort of breeding-ground for young zoras, though Stalflare didn't think that zoras that young would be much use in a fight with the undead, unless the war happened to continue for years.

Swiftly, Stalflare grabbed his cloak and staff from nearby, and headed towards Link, but before he could get there, the Hero of Time spoke out to him, looking almost bored.

"It's because if we lose any more of our fights, we may need to have a way of growing additional reinforcements..." Link said without turning around.

"That wasn't what I was going to ask you." Stalflare insisted, feeling a little irritated by Link's budding, know-it-all attitude, "I just wanted to confirm that our next move will be a swift one."

"Oh, yes." Link agreed, though he still didn't smile, "I can't wait for the end of this war."

"And I take it that our next target will be Kakariko Village." Stalflare added, already anticipating their next move.

"Yes." Link confirmed, though he didn't seem surprised by Stalflare's insight, "Once we've reclaimed it from the undead, its resources will be ours, and it'll give us a good vantage point from which to strike Hyrule Castle, especially if we can manage to take Death Mountain as well."

For a moment, Stalflare stroked his chin, making calculations about the strength of their forces in his head, but finally, he just asked Link, "Do you really think we can take the town, graveyard and mountain all in one swoop?"

"Yes, I think so." Link replied, though he didn't really seem to have given the question much thought, "Don't forget that we have some powerful zoras on our side now, and with their help, I'd say our chances for success are pretty decent."

Stalflare couldn't help but think that Link was being a bit too optimistic, considering how many undead champions they still had to overcome, but if nothing else, it seemed as if Link was still trying his best to save Hyrule, and he still hadn't led them into any major failures yet. Even if he seemed to be taking everything too lightly, Stalflare decided, he'd probably be better off trusting the Hero of Time.

By that point, however, their short discussion was over, and Link had gone back to giving instructions, in preparation for the assault that they were planning to launch that afternoon. Stalflare had to admit that they all had work of their own to do.

* * *

The sun was still hidden behind thick, gray clouds, as the relatively small army made their way through the wooden gates of Kakariko. Link hadn't expected the sun to have come out yet, but he would have welcomed it. He had an easier time using many of his weapons in broad daylight.

However, despite the lousy weather, Link was fairly confident. His feet were still glowing green, but his arms were radiating orange light, and the rest of him glowed blue. As usual, that change was considered a little odd by everyone, even though they knew the cause.

Overnight, the former princess named Ruto had emerged from her hideout in Lake Hylia, where she'd been living, ever since the dethroning of her father, and at that point, she'd given Link her blessing as the Sage of Water. She'd also offered to join in the assault, but Link had assured her that someone had to stay behind to look after the home base, and the zora eggs, so after some heated arguing, that was precisely what she'd done.

"I'm sure that Ruto's powers as a sage will be helpful in our efforts," Link admitted to Stalflare as they came in sight of the Kakariko houses, "but this might be our most dangerous mission yet, and I don't want to risk everyone dying in one fell swoop. We may not survive this attempt, but I want there to be another chance for Hyrule, even if we do die."

Stalflare was scowling even deeper than he usually did by that point, however, and soon, he'd replied to Link, looking a bit skeptical of his approach to the situation.

"It doesn't sound much different from what we've done in the past. We just have to be more careful and precise, and keep improving."

However, almost before they'd taken two more steps towards the buildings of Kakariko, four stalfos emerged from the ground at Link's feet, and charged to the attack at once.

By that point, Link's forces very much outnumbered their enemies, and the battle with the stalfos didn't last long. Not only that, but there wasn't a single casualty, so they continued to press on to the north, into the center of town, making sure to stay on the lookout for any more sudden attacks.

Soon, three more stalfos; two of which had bows, appeared closer to the center of town, and attacked Link's forces, but once again, they were badly outclassed, and Link's small army prevailed without any loss of life.

However, as Link and the others pressed further into town, towards the windmill at the north side of Kakariko Village, Link froze in his tracks. He'd expected to meet more than one powerful monster during that assault; maybe even as many as three, but not two at once, and not so soon.

Still, there they were, right in front of him; two of the creatures described to him by Nalabal. To the right was a stalfo that glowed with unholy magic, and to the left was a giant, wearing a hideous, five-horned helmet, and huge, metal boots. In every other place, the giant's body seemed to be full of stitches, as if it were sown together from many other bodies, rather than being a single undead at all.

The giant was probably something like eleven feet tall; twelve if one counted the horns on his helmet, and as Link and Stalflare cautiously approached the two, Link half expected the giant to have a deep, raspy voice, and the stalfo to have a sharp, hollow speaking voice. However, the stalfo's voice resonated more than Link had expected it to, almost to the point of being like a high-pitched shriek, and as for the voice of the giant...

Link could hardly even describe the giant's voice on that, or any other day of his life. There wasn't even the slightest hint of a rasp or mispronunciation as he spoke, and although his voice was a bit deeper than Link's, it was by no means as deep as Link had expected it to be.

In fact, although the giant's voice was distinctly male, it was also quite possibly the most beautiful voice that anyone there had ever heard, with the exception of Gerudi's voice, and she'd been a Goddess.

If that voice had told all those gathered that they could turn diamonds to coal, many would have believed it, despite the giant's hideous appearance, and the owner of that voice wasn't about to say anything as obviously-false as that. Indeed, when they approached, the giant seemed to be arguing with the stalfo.

"You know how I felt about this invasion from the start, Ritoan." The giant said with a sadness that could have broken most mortal hearts, "These new orders aren't making it any easier."

"How you feel is only a small part of this, Raid," the stalfo replied in its sharp, resonating tone, "and the orders are very clear. We..."

At that point, however, the stalfo and giant both turned at the same time, to see Link and Stalflare standing there with their army, and watching them carefully. They'd approached ahead of their forces, and were standing almost symmetrically with the two apparent fiends.

"We have guests." the stalfo observed with a hideous grin. However, although the giant's face couldn't be seen beyond its helmet, Link was fairly sure that he wasn't grinning, like his partner.

"If the dark lord wanted this mission accomplished, he should have crushed the potential intruders." the giant grumbled discontentedly.

"Now, don't over-react." The stalfo replied in a very annoyed tone of voice, "I'll destroy them myself. In the meantime, you run to the top of the mountain and complete your experiments."

The giant began to turn towards the path to Death Mountain when Ritoan said that, but as he did, his apparent partner barked "And don't even think about double-crossing us again! I still don't understand why our lord forgave you for what happened last time."

That comment caused the giant to turn back, and face the stalfo again for a moment. Link could tell that he was quite angry, both at the stalfo, and at someone else, who was absent at that moment, but unfortunately, it didn't seem like there was any chance of either one attacking the other.

"I know what my part is in all this, even if I don't like it." the giant said sadly, "Just do yours, and you have nothing to worry about."

With that parting shot, he turned around and vanished; seemingly into thin air. It was just like what Mazar had done when Link had first entered the forest. That was the second enemy he'd met already who possessed vast, superhuman speed without needing to take flight, and Link could only hope that the giant; who the stalfo had called Raid, was no faster than Mazar had been.

"As for the two of you," the stalfo; apparently named Ritoan spat out at them, addressing Link and Stalflare, "if you survive this next battle, remember this. As long as I have life, you'll never be rid of the undead that roam through this village, and even your own dead will willingly fight you!"

With that, a green aura covered him, and he also vanished, but Link recognized that aura, and he could tell that it wasn't due to the speed of the stalfo. Obviously, he had some form of teleportation spell; an odd variation on Farore's Wind, which was a spell that he himself had used more than once.

Still, Link had very little time to think about the powers of the beings he'd just seen. Almost as soon as the stalfo called Ritoan vanished, three moblins appeared, but they were certainly different from any other moblins that Link had ever seen. They were huge, and skeletal; almost fifty percent bigger than the normal moblin types, and as Link soon discovered, their strength was nothing short of monstrous.

One young Gerudo lost her life in that fight, and before their very eyes, a stalfo erupted from her remains, and attacked her fellow soldiers, but Link moved swiftly, beheading the foul creature with a single swipe of his sword.

The loss of one of their warriors, however, was something that Link hadn't wanted to experience, and the fact that, as Ritoan had said, the very dead themselves had attacked them was bound to make that mission a particularly dangerous one for any army. In a way, there was more at risk than ever, because their every loss really was their enemy's gain.

* * *

After the battle had finally ended, Link was starting to look a little out of breath, but obviously, he still had work to do, and that was the first thing. Soon, he'd pulled Stalflare aside once more, and from the look on his face, the gerudo wizard could tell that Link wanted to plan their next move carefully.

"They're centered in the Kakariko Graveyard, of course." Link observed, explaining what he already knew about their enemies, "but right now, we might be facing a small army, and even if we can match them blow for blow, they'll probably be able to win by using our own casualties against us. I've never faced anything like that before, and I don't want our army to have to. I think if we engage them head-on, we'll lose out and just wind up making their forces stronger."

"So what do you suggest?" Stalflare asked, starting to grow worried that he wouldn't like the answer.

"This isn't a battle for armies." Link replied, a severe expression appearing on his face, "This is a fight for heroes. You can join me if you think you're up to it, but I'd like the others to remain behind and surround the entrance to the graveyard. I'm going to march in there by myself and scare up as many undead as I can. If possible, I'll try to lure them out to the graveyard entrance. That way, they'll have to fight in a more limited space, and we'll be able to fire on them from all directions."

"How many of these foes do you think you can defeat by yourself?" Stalflare asked, skepticism once again showing itself in his expression.

"I'm not sure." Link responded, looking a little worried, "Ten; maybe twenty. Maybe a few more, but they're very powerful fighters. Plus, I'd rather not have to waste my energy fighting them at all."

"You expect Ritoan to be a problem." Stalflare observed.

"He's a teleporter," Link explained, closing both eyes as he considered the situation carefully, "and teleporters are always dangerous, but he might also have some other spells. Right now, I have no idea what kind of damage he's really capable of doing. Anyway, it's best to be as prepared as possible. I don't think he'll be as foolish as Octagious. I suspect he's going to fight alongside his men; maybe even lead them into battle personally, and if he's as powerful as Octagious or Mazar, that could be a big problem."

Stalflare nodded after just a moment, to show that he understood what Link meant. Octagious had been a simple foe to beat, in some ways, because he'd been fighting alone, but when one was fighting a truly powerful enemy, it was very difficult to also have to fend off several less-powerful ones at the same time.

"Hopefully," Link explained, "The others can keep his army busy while I dash through their ranks and confront Ritoan. If he's been telling us the truth, the undead curse will be lifted from Kakariko if we can kill him."

"I hope he doesn't have the chance to make use of that curse again," Stalflare replied somberly, tying a small bag to his belt, "and yes, I will join you in your assault. You can't talk me out of it."

Link smiled broadly when Stalflare had responded to his previous offer. He hadn't really wanted to request Stalflare's help, but deep down inside, he'd hoped that he could count on the gerudo sorcerer to be a hero.

* * *

As it turned out, two more groups of undead were hiding in the main body of Kakariko Village, and had to be finished off, and two attack attempts from the graveyard had been routed in the time that took, but after nearly an hour, Link's attack was ready to begin.

The zoras were the front line of attack, since they could take the most damage, followed by the gerudo warriors. The fairies and kokiri were arranged behind them to heal anyone who seemed to be injured, and fire their bows whenever they saw an opening. Link and Stalflare stood in front of them all, poised at the entrance to the graveyard, and trying to prepare as best they could for what was to come. At last, Link drew his weapon, and started to charge forward, into the depths of the enemy's territory.

Ritoan had been expecting the hylian to start by attacking with everything he had, so he was both puzzled and filled with contempt when he saw that only two people had emerged through the open gates of the graveyard. It was a surprising tactic, which he couldn't really understand.

"Attack from all sides." Ritoan quickly commanded his forces, "They must be functioning as advance scouts, but they won't escape to warn the rest. Soon, we'll have their bodies fighting for us."

As stalfos began to close in on Hyrule's heroes from all sides, the fight began. Using the great strength afforded to him by the golden gauntlets, Link had begun the fight by grabbing two stalfos, and smashing their skulls together. Stalflare had leapt into the air, and in seconds, a large raven was encircling the area, strafing the forces below it with blasts of fire from its beak, and dodging the arrows being fired at it from the bows of the numerous stalfos archers.

With the speed that had aided him so well in the past, Link weaved back and forth between the weapons of his enemies, and grabbed them sharply by every loose end and bare bone that he thought he could use for a handle, and although a crowd of stalfos continued to advance against Link, the air also seemed to be full of them, being flung in all directions at once, most often towards a stone wall, or a gravestone, where their bones would splinter into useless fragments.

Stalflare, meanwhile, had transformed back into his gerudo form in mid-air, and unleashed a wall of flames, which erupted in all directions, consuming most of the enemies that were too near him.

As soon as Stalflare did that, Link whipped out his mirror shield, and he could feel the flames that had headed in his direction being pulled into its reflective, enchanted surface. As he had once before, he held his shield outstretched, and it began to expel flames.

At that moment, Link wielded that marvelous weapon against all the enemies he could, before the fire stopped, and he had to use his shield once again, to block the attack of another stalfo, who'd intended to cut off his head with a swipe of its sword. In a blur, Link spun around, using his own blade, shield and sheath at once, to repel attacks from three separate directions, and had forced back his attackers for another moment.

Many stalfos had chosen to march past the Hero of Time towards Kakariko, but Link knew they'd only be marching to their doom, falling to the attacks of the troops that Link had left behind.

After Link and Stalflare had been fighting for what seemed like an hour, the enemies began to lose their brittle consistency, and the new foes that were advancing seemed, for the most part, to actually have some flesh on their bones. However, it was twisted, discolored flesh, as though without any blood behind it, and almost as if it wasn't meant to be moved at all. Link couldn't simply throw them against walls, or punch holes in their bones anymore. Those zombies required something sharper to deal with them.

After defeating three of his attackers, Link drew his sword again, and all at once, he was a blur; leaping, slicing, and cutting undead limbs and torsos completely in half. However, just then, he felt his enemies begin to get faster, and soon, it was all he could do to dodge their attacks.

Just as Link was wondering why they hadn't used that incredible speed before, he looked around, and at the front of the graveyard, he could see five stalfos, all glowing with evil magic, yet none of them were dressed as properly as Ritoan. He could see that they all had their hands raised, and aimed directly at him.

"Stalflare," Link yelled, desperately kicking aside one blade, as he parried three others, "The stalfo mages are using their powers to slow me down! You have to stop them!"

Stalflare tried to send flames hurtling towards the skeletal mages at first, but his enemies seemed to disappear in flashes of light before the flames could even get to them. At once, Stalflare began to feel terribly ill, as though someone were cursing him with some kind of sickness, and that was when he realized that even he wasn't completely impervious to the magic of their new enemies.

Tossing care completely to the wind, Stalflare spread out both of his arms, and leapt into the air, and that was when a powerful blizzard seemed to explode from both his hands and feet, covering everything in the area in snow. It was only then, as his magic drained out of him, and into the layer of snow that he was creating, that Stalflare saw what had really happened to his new enemies.

Although Stalflare had indeed grown quite a bit stronger since he was attacked by Mazar and Nyarokai, summoning the freezing storm had been exhaustive to him, but he could already see small piles of snow bobbing back and forth through the air, along the stone ridge nearby; five of them.

Despite his exhaustion, Stalflare got to his feet, and leapt at one of the floating snow piles, striking it sharply with the gem on the end of his staff. Those mage stalfos had the power of invisibility, but he could tell where they were by the snow on their heads and shoulder blades, and the skeletal footprints they were leaving behind, and although Stalflare didn't think he could manage another fireball, he knew that he had to try to fight the stalfos all the same.

One of them was shattered by his staff in moments. Two more noticed his attack, and leapt on top of him at once, while he began to feel some kind of insane will start to eat away at his consciousness, but he shrugged it off, because he knew that it was just another evil curse. It was his job to champion the forces of life, and that was what he would do, no matter what kind of magic he had to face.

Soon, grabbing one of the invisible stalfos, the gerudo hurled it over his head, and into another, then heard the familiar sound of bones shattering, as he headed for the remaining two.

One of the last two mage stalfos seemed to remain in the same position, even as Stalflare approached, its hands still pointed at Link, but the other caused two orbs of bright light to appear in the air beside it, and Stalflare could tell that it had enchanted its invisible fists somehow.

Stalflare could have spent time wondering how that had been done, but he knew that he'd be better off just responding to the deadly threat in front of him, and questioning how it was possible later. Quickly, the sorcerer ducked back and forth, out of the way of the creature's fists, before his leather boot shattered its ribcage, and he brought his staff down hard on the skull of the last one.

Thanks to the spells of the mage stalfos, Link had been slowing down through most of that last fight, which had caused him to sustain three minor cuts, but when Stalflare had taken care of the last mage stalfo, Link felt his speed returning, and with a single swift motion, he parried six of his enemies at once. He then leapt backward, braced his feet against a rock wall, and slid across the graveyard, slicing off the feet of many enemies, when he was grabbed from behind, and lifted clean off his feet in moments.

The creature that had seized Link looked the same as the skeletal moblins that he'd seen before, only if anything, bigger, and in a relatively-short time, it had grabbed Link's neck in one hand, and his sword arm in the other. In response, Stalflare broke through the ranks of the enemy with a great deal of difficulty, and headed towards Link as fast as he could, taking a green powder out of the pouch that Link had seen him attach to his belt that very afternoon.

In seconds, Stalflare threw the powder across the ground, just as Link felt the beast starting to crush his neck in its grip. Soon, a green glow covered the area, where the powder had been spilled, and when it died down, there stood four zoras, seven gerudo, ten kokiri and a fairy.

It was, in fact, most of Link's army.

At the sight of those forces, the skeletal moblin's grip loosened just enough that Link was able to shatter its spine with his shield, and both combatants fell to the ground in a heap, as the warriors of life re-entered the fight.

"Sorry if I went behind your back on this." Stalflare said, as he gradually rejoined Link, doing his best to fight beside him, "But like all our warriors, you're an asset to us alive, and to them dead. I think our army can take it from here."

Link gasped as he struggled to regain his breath, but when he was finally able to speak again, his words didn't sound particularly hopeful.

"They have a chance," Link struggled to say, "but not if I can't beat Ritoan. That teleportation powder was a miracle. Where'd you get it?"

"An old kokiri named Mido gave it to me." Stalflare said with the closest thing to a pleasant smile that Link had ever seen him don, "He wanted me to make it a surprise."

As the sounds of battle continued behind Link and Stalflare, however, one sound in front of them truly got their attention, because it was the sound of Ritoan's voice. Link had gotten his breathing back under control, and was far from being tired, but he hoped that his minor injuries wouldn't slow him down, because he still had a fight on his hands.

"I suppose the real battle has begun, intruder." Ritoan said, looking entirely too pleased with himself as he spoke, "I've seen the way you fight, and the way I fight. If you're allowed to interfere in your army's battle with my undead forces, then they could win their battle without any more casualties, but if I kill you here and now, well..."

As Ritoan said that, he seemed to grin with dark pleasure, and soon, he continued, still grinning, "Let's just say that we're in the right place for that sort of outcome. The battle behind us makes no difference. It's merely a distraction. What really matters, intruder, is who wins this fight; you or me."

"I understood all the others." Link said, trying to ignore his injuries, as he stared Ritoan directly in his glowing, green eye-sockets, "but you I just don't get. Most of the other undead leaders were once good people; trapped, enslaved or misled, but you're different. You seem to delight in pain, and rejoice in despair. I've never met anyone like you."

"I'm not surprised." Ritoan replied with a hideous, skeletal grin, "Here in Hyrule, life was so good, that no one had any reason to complain. People did the jobs they wanted to do, and reaped every ounce of the rewards they deserved. No worries, no inequalities, no discontent, and no oppression. Life was always fair here, wasn't it? I imagine you wouldn't have anyone here who was Yag-Otan-Nislaake."

Link barely even recognized the word that Ritoan had just used. It was certainly a hylian word, but he'd hardly ever heard it used before. He did, however, remember that in legends of long ago, during the Great Chaos, life was so terrible, and always in such doubt, that many were driven to become the Yag-Otan-Nislaake.

The word was a very obscure one in Link's time, however, because really, it had been a very long time since there'd been anyone it applied to. It was a contraction, meaning "one who is damaged or unsound of mind," and in the legends, it happened during eras of extreme unfairness or injustice. However, there hadn't been a Yag-Otan-Nislaake for over a hundred generations; which was to say, in the vast majority of recorded history.

In that moment, Link started to wonder if that creature named Ritoan could really be an undead, and also a Yag-Otan-Nislaake. The thought frightened Stalflare quite a bit too, and Link got the feeling he would have been very much frightened himself if not for his Triforce of Courage.

"We both have reasons for fighting." Ritoan expounded, looking almost philosophical for a moment, "You want to, what was it again? Ah, yes... 'Defend goodness and life,' and as for me, I fight for kicks."

"You fight for your master." Link corrected him, but it was clear that was an unpleasant reminder for Ritoan. His loyalty was indeed to his "dark lord," but when he was fighting, having his brand of "fun," he hated to be reminded that it served someone else's purpose. In fact, he hated it so much, that as soon as Link told him that, Ritoan leapt at him in a blinding rage, with both of his clawed hands glowing bright red!

Link leapt back away from his enemy, and Ritoan's red-hot claws collided with the snow, melting about a foot of it in each direction. He gave a guttural noise, that sounded something like a hideous cross between a snarl and a chuckle, as he yanked both claws out of the snow, and crawled backwards on all fours, to try to get a better vantage point from which to strike, but Link would not be cornered. His hand on the hilt of his sword, the Hero of Time also paced in a circular motion around his foe, keeping his eyes on his enemy at all times, like the trained warrior he was.

Ritoan let out a cruel laugh, as he leapt back into the air with both hands glowing again, although that time, they were glowing blue instead of red. In response, Link ducked back and forth, dodging Ritoan's attacks for close to sixty seconds, until Ritoan managed to catch hold of one strand of his Link's hair. Link winced as the hair was frozen solid by the fiend's touch, and shattered into a hundred ice-covered pieces, that fell to the ground a moment later.

"All right." Link thought to himself, recovering quickly, and trying to keep his eyes on his enemy the whole time, "So he can burn or freeze with his hands. I just can't let him touch me."

At once, Link sped up, moving much faster in the blink of an eye. Stalflare was amazed and flabbergasted by the kind of speed that Link was demonstrating. If anything, he looked like he'd gotten even faster since his fight with Mazar, and for a few moments, Ritoan was obviously frustrated by his inability to make any kind of contact with his foe.

However, in a very short amount of time, the undead creature's hands began to glow a brighter blue, and Link found himself having to twist his body into a V-shape in mid-air, to dodge all three of the freezing blasts that ushered forth from Ritoan's fingertips. He followed that up with another clawing jab, and another ice blast assault, but by using his sword and shield, Link was able to parry the attacks of his foe, and dodge his blasts. He then moved in to strike his enemy, with the obvious intention of finishing off the fight as quickly as possible.

It seemed that Ritoan's bag of tricks was far from empty, though. When Link was no more than seven feet away from him, Ritoan's hand began to glow green, and Link had to duck to one side swiftly, to try to avoid the ensuing blast of sickly, green-looking magic.

Link had been caught so badly off-guard, that a part of his shoulder had been clipped by the edge of the blast, and as the magic started to travel through his shoulder blade, he felt a horrible, stabbing pain, followed by a dull ache. He was lucky that the blast didn't do any permanent damage, though, because as he looked back around, Link could see that the rest of the magic spell had collided with the grass behind him, killing it almost instantly, and it was only then that Link realized what kind of magic Ritoan was using against him. It was some kind of death-bolt.

Quickly, Link turned back to face his foe, in the hopes of striking him down, before he could fire another blast, only to find, to his dismay, that Ritoan was gone.

Link spun around, trying his best to focus over the pain that was still filling his shoulder. He doubted that his foe had the power to turn invisible, like the other mage stalfos they'd been fighting, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, Link felt a terrible, searing pain coarse up and down his back, but he recognized that sensation, and he realized at once that he was on fire. Rolling forward, through the thin layer of snow at his feet, Link extinguished the flames, and began to look around for the foe that he knew was still there, but the pain was making things a lot harder, and he couldn't seem to maintain his concentration for very long.

After waiting painfully for close to five seconds, Link detected a small, purple glow off to the side, however, and at once, he spun around, aiming his shield in that direction. He felt a volley of speedy blows collide with his shield at once, and one swift strike hit his leg, freezing his kneecap solid...

Link winced as the pain coursed through his body again. It felt a dozen times worse than a pinched nerve, if not more. Link activated Nayru's Love at once, hoping that it might protect him for a little bit longer, and then began to look around for his foe.

Soon, he saw the purple glow again, however, and shoved his shield forward in that direction, so hard that it collided with something very sharply. Link felt a searing, hot attack rebound off his other knee, but since he was protected by Nayru's Love, it did no real damage to him.

However, what really defined the moment was that when Link struck out, Ritoan reappeared, and was knocked backwards at once, away from the mirror shield that Link had just used as a blunt weapon. Behind him, Ritoan left a solid, purple orb; six feet in every dimension, which seemed to float in the air for no reason at all.

Link recognized its shape and size, however, as being a constructed, magic aura, designed to enhance the performance of whatever entered it. As Ritoan had been knocked back away from it, it had become visible for a few moments, but soon, it began to fade back out of existence, and Ritoan's hands had stopped glowing again.

"It seems you've lost." Stalflare commented from the sidelines, though he was still trying to regain some of his magic as best he could.

"Yes." Ritoan remarked from where he lay on the ground, his bones almost rattling from the beating that he'd just taken, "I suppose it might seem like that to you."

Suddenly, however, Ritoan's entire body began to glow green, and a type of green and black smoke began to appear, and spread all over him, killing the grass at his feet, and spreading out further by the moment. In the face of such a new and strange kind of magic, link ducked off to one side, but the smoke seemed to follow him with surprising speed.

"This is my greatest power!" Ritoan yelled in insane glee, from the very center of the growing cloud of smoke, "I can only use it against the living, but it's more than effective enough. This death vapor kills anything it touches, but more importantly, it can, with time, grow to any size I want it to be, and it obeys my commands without question. No living creature can conquer me, because no living creature can get through a barrier like this one."

Link charged to one side, still with Nayru's Love activated, and started firing off arrows, but Ritoan simply plucked them out of the air with his hands, laughing as he did so in what looked like delight.

"Do you think I would have survived for as long as I have if I had no defense from long-range attacks?" Ritoan asked with contempt, "You have no chance for survival, because no matter what you do, you cannot touch me through the death vapor!"

The vapors seemed to strike out at Link from three directions at once, like a nest of snakes, as he continued trying to get away, so whipping out his hookshot, the Hero of Time leapt backwards, and soon found himself clinging to one of the nearby stone walls of the graveyard, with the hookshot in the wall, and the vapours growing larger, heading right for him, second by second.

Link's mind was racing by that point, as he tried to develop some idea for countering Ritoan's powers; some means of claiming victory, but for the moment, he could only think of one.

Gripping one of the outcroppings on the rock wall, Link wedged his sword into the stone, then replaced it with an arrow, which stuck directly out of the wall. Just as the mist was about to reach him, Link tied a bomb to the arrow, and yanked the hookshot out of the rock wall, to let himself fall to the ground.

The explosion was a fairly small one, but the rockslide it caused was big enough. Once the rock wall had been blown apart, its shards, sliding rocks and boulders, covered half of the graveyard, and as Link had planned, it was the half containing himself and Ritoan.

Stalflare leapt in desperation from one rock to the next, as did Link, who had the added difficulty of dodging the death vapor at the same time, while still ignoring his existing injuries, but almost at once, Ritoan was covered in boulders, until he could no longer be seen underneath the fallen rubble, and the thick layer of dust, which was only starting to settle.

As the dust cleared, Stalflare looked down, into the rubble, and was sad to see that Link was lying there as well. Link had been tripped by a large, falling rock, while attempting to dodge the death vapors, and he was covered with bruises and small cuts as a result, but he was still alive, albeit in no condition to fight another creature like that one.

"Well," Stalflare said, smiling, as he lifted the injured hero from the rubble, "I suppose that's the end of our skeletal foe."

However, no sooner were the words out of Stalflare's lips, then violent tremors began to shake the entire area, and dirt and dust were sprayed in all directions away from its center. Everyone stared in awe and horror. Many of the remaining undead monsters were hit by flying shards of rock, and killed, but Link's allies managed, for the most part, to duck behind shields, boulders, or their enemies, and escape injury. However, what they saw just then struck fear into their hearts...

"Fool!" They all heard a mad, cackling voice shout out, "This is only the beginning!"

The voice came from above Link and his most powerful ally, but of the two of them, only Stalflare had the strength to look up. There, he saw a sight that put mortal terror into his heart once again.

The green clouds, which had emanated from Ritoan's body had changed shape again; still nebulous in form, but suddenly, their outsides had hardened into a tough, clay-like substance, and at the center was Ritoan. Worse yet, however, both he and his creation were floating in the air, and completely unharmed.

"I must not have mentioned" Ritoan cackled, "that I can turn my death vapors into an ectoplasmic second skin; a gas golem, if you will. It can fly, and change in size and shape, and shield me from physical blows, and while I'm inside it, nothing living can reach me, much less hurt me!"

With a maniacal laugh, Ritoan made a motion with one of his arms, and Stalflare watched in horror, as Ritoan's second skin made that same motion. Then, moving like water from a spigot, it collapsed onto the ground, and leapt at Link and Stalflare in a torrent.

Stalflare knew that he had to act fast, so he grabbed Link, and leapt into the air, away from their clay-like, deadly assailant. At the last second, he was able to throw Link onto one of the gravesites nearby, where he landed on the soft earth over the grave itself.

Stalflare had been trying to regain his spent strength from the battle with the stalfos mages, but even after all the time he'd taken already, doing his best to return to full strength, he still only had enough power left for one low-level spell. Link probably had more power, but he was hardly in a state to use much of it, or so Stalflare thought at first.

"No!" Link exclaimed from the gravestone where he lay. Every movement was agony, but Link knew that he had to push past that. He had to deliver one last attack.

Standing on his two feet, despite how torn-up they were, Link placed both hands together, and in one single, swift, and terrible moment, he shoved them both against the ground. Stalflare held his staff in front of him for protection, as a wall of fire flew out from Link's body in all directions, rushing towards their enemy, as Link's other forces took cover.

One of Stalflare's sleeves was singed slightly by Link's attack, but he wasn't harmed too badly by the fire. However, almost as soon as the wall of flames had struck the second skin of their enemy, it began to dissipate, and when that happened, Stalflare's eyes widened in recognition.

"So that's why." Stalflare muttered aloud, a number of ideas occurring to him at once.

Since Ritoan had first summoned up his death vapors, Stalflare had been wondering why he hadn't used his powers of flame or ice, but when he saw what had happened to the Hero of Time's fire spell, the reason became clear. The "death vapors" were just that; condensed water vapor, infected with a death curse. In such a humid environment, flames wouldn't have survived for long enough to have any effect, and as for ice...

Stalflare had begun to lose hope when Ritoan had first emerged from the rockslide, but as he contemplated the true nature of the undead fighter's magic, he realized that there was still one way that they could win.

"Now, you'll die, you little fool." Ritoan barked gleefully, as Link collapsed from a plain and simple lack of energy, "You'll all die! You and all your friends!"

"He's in no position to fight you, coward!" Stalflare yelled to the airborne vapor giant, causing Ritoan to turn his head for a moment, and look in his direction, "Before you kill him, you'd better fight me!"

For a moment, Ritoan scraped his boney chin in thought, but when the moment was done, a downpour of green, clay-like matter formed into a third hand, emerging from the back of the huge, clay-like golem, and soon, it had seized Stalflare's whole torso, trapping him in a powerful grip.

Worse yet, Stalflare could feel absolute agony traveling out from that death golem's very touch; eating away at his life. However, Stalflare knew that the pain wasn't something that really mattered. Soon, his mouth opened, and with the one breath available to him, he let out an incantation.

At once, Stalflare's fists were covered in an icy enchantment, which started to spread over the clay-like, second skin that was gripping him.

"NO!" Ritoan exclaimed, realizing at once what Stalflare had planned, as he tried to change the shape of his second skin, to rid himself of the spreading ice, but it was no good. As soon as the hand binding Stalflare was frozen, he struck out hard with his staff, shattering it to pieces, and plummeted, exhausted and half-dead, to the ground.

As Stalflare began to feel the death curse wearing off, leaving him almost as healthy as he had been before, however, he looked up, and there he saw the green, clay giant, turning to ice in mid-air, with Ritoan still trapped inside.

At last, with one final scream of panic from the helpless, frozen fiend, the magical construct plummeted towards the ground, and there, it shattered into thousands of pieces, leaving almost nothing behind of the enemy, or his Yag-Otan-Nislaake mentality.

The only intact bone of Ritoan's that was ever found among the debris was his skull, and it was crushed that very night.

When he was later asked to explain his choice of spell, Stalflare said "Once I realized that the vapor contained enough water to douse enchanted fire, I gambled that it would be simple enough to freeze it into a solid form, and then shatter it. Since Ritoan was in the center of the vapor when it was frozen, he too was frozen, and shattered."

That night, however, Stalflare couldn't have said any more, because the battle had weakened him so much, that he collapsed almost as soon as it finished, and was, for a time, at death's door. Fortunately, there were only a few undead left to fight in that graveyard, and they were defeated relatively quickly, so that the kokiri and fairies didn't have to wait long before they were permitted to carry the wounded back to their tents for healing.

By midnight on that day, Link was awake, though still feeling rather weak. Stalflare, however, had expended his magic almost completely, and so, he was still asleep when the next morning came, and although his health had improved, and his injuries were gone, he hadn't, for some reason, woken up. No one could explain why that was, though.

Link was a bit worried about Stalflare by that point, but all the same, he knew he couldn't let that jeopardize the mission they had to complete. Stalflare had saved his life the day before, and had claimed victory where he hadn't been able to, but there was still the giant to worry about. Link had no idea what kind of evil the giant might be planning to unleash upon them at any minute, and he knew that something had to be done about him.

"Ritoan said that the giant, who he called 'Raid,'" Link explained to his army the next morning, "would be heading to the top of Death Mountain to perform an experiment. Unless his experiment is finished, we should still find him there."

Suddenly, however, from behind, Link heard a shout. When he turned to look in the direction of the voice, he saw that two kokiri were running up to him from the direction of the windmill. Link instantly recognized them as the kokiri he'd sent to try to find more Kakariko survivors, and they looked like they had some good news.

"Sorry it took so long," one of the kokiri; a girl, said, "There aren't many survivors. All the houses were scoured by the undead."

The other one; a boy, continued, however, "In fact, only three of them survived, and they only made it by hiding at the bottom of some well or something, but they say they're shiekah."

At once, uniformed figures appeared behind the kokiri, as if from thin air, and Link smiled when he saw the outfits that they were wearing. They definitely were shiekah; the most powerful of all the hyrulian races. Link knew that they would be very helpful in the fight ahead, no matter how few of them were left, and that was even before one of them had removed her hood, showing her face to the Hero of Time. Link smiled at that point, because he knew that he'd finally found someone who he could really trust.

* * *

"I'm afraid it's not good." Impa later told Link as the two stood together in the command tent of the gerudo army, discussing the situation, "The strongest force attacked Hyrule Castle. Not a single hylian is left alive, aside from yourself and Nalabal. Even I barely escaped."

Link frowned as he listened to what Impa was telling him, but it was hard for him to believe.

"What about the princess?" Link asked, "What happened to her?"

"She was killed in battle." Impa said with a frown, "I'm afraid that getting her blessing may not be possible."

"Still, at least I have yours." Link observed, looking down at his left arm, which had started to glow violet, "I can only hope Darunia is still alive to give me his. Our chances against this enemy won't be nearly as good unless I can receive the blessings of as many sages as possible. You know the kind of power they can bestow. If the powers we're facing are really so terrible, I need the power of the sages to fight it; now more than ever."

Impa just nodded, though she wasn't looking at Link by that point. Obviously, she'd seen some terrible things during the invasion of Hyrule Castle, but Impa was a warrior, and she wouldn't have cried; even over the destruction of the entire world.

* * *

Less than an hour later, Link's group set out towards the peak of Death Mountain, leaving the unconscious Stalflare behind. There were minor undead forces laying in wait along the path up the mountain, but they didn't pose any real threat to the gerudo warriors, much less the shiekah, and were quickly dispatched.

However, as Link and his troop neared the Goron City, two of the rocks nearby seemed to burst into flames, and fold out into a pair of lava monsters, like the sort that Link had fought at Lon Lon Ranch, before he'd even entered the Desert. Link knew that those creatures were most likely undead gorons, but the shiekah looked shocked and horrified by the sight, as if they'd never seen creatures like that before.

"What in Din's name are they?" Impa exclaimed, as she saw the lava monsters rush towards their group with surprising speed.

"The enemy." Link simply said, as the fight against them began, feeling that it wasn't the best time to tell Impa about his true suspicions.

The lava golems fought well, but soon, they were destroyed, with arrows and swords penetrating their powerful, stone skin. However, as Link and his army got closer to the entrance to the Goron's cave, three more lava monsters appeared, and Link was forced to use his ice arrows to incapacitate one, while his allies did battle with the others.

Even for Link's forces, the three monsters proved to be a hard fight, and three gerudo and one zora were injured. The four of them returned to camp for eventual treatment, although for the time being, the kokiri and fairies still had their hands full with Stalflare, and the others who'd been injured in the graveyard battle.

Still, none of the injuries in the fight with the lava creatures had been fatal, fortunately. Mostly, they'd amounted to bad burns, or broken limbs. On the whole, Link wasn't as worried about injuries like those. He had bigger concerns.

"It's just like I thought." Link told Impa sadly, when the injured were out of earshot, "These monsters get thicker as we move closer to the Goron Cavern. The lava monsters are obviously undead gorons. I only hope there are still some gorons left alive to help us."

Impa understood what Link was saying, and she had to admit that he was probably right. When she looked at him again, Link was practicing fitting more than one arrow into a bow at once. Clearly, he was trying to plan some kind of new technique, but things were still pretty bad. Impa knew that the people of Hyrule were going to need all the new techniques they could get in the next few days.

* * *

As they proceeded further up Death Mountain, Link and his group encountered some more stalfos, and two more lava monsters, but those, Link was able to dispatch with ice arrows, so that he could reach the sheer cliff face that led to the top of Death Mountain, without anyone else losing their life.

"The shiekah and gerudo could probably climb this," Link told Impa when he reached the cliff face, "but I don't think the kokiri or zora can. For now, I'm going up alone, but if I whistle, that means it's safe to come up."

Then, without waiting for, or accepting any objections, Link gripped the cliff face with one of his hands, and began the near-impossible task of climbing the sheer surface; the near-impossible task that he'd accomplished so often in the past.

In less than two minutes, Link had scaled the vertical surface, and reached the top of Death Mountain. There, he could see something truly horrible. Raid had removed his helmet, revealing a face that seemed just as patchwork as the rest of his body, and he was sewing an arm onto a body, that was obviously dead, and more to the point, seemed to be made from many different bodies. His "experiment" seemed much like his own body, in fact, only smaller.

As soon as Raid saw Link, however, his frown seemed to turn into a smile, then back into a more blank expression again. Raid was emotionally-confusing as things were, and even Link was having a hard time figuring out how he really felt

For some reason, Link had the impulse to cover his ears, because of the extraordinary beauty and persuasiveness of the voice that ushered forth from Raid's lips, but he was able to restrain himself. Still, he kept his hand on his weapon, because he'd already seen how swiftly Raid could move, and didn't want to be caught off-guard.

"Ah." Raid said with some interest, though his expression remained perfectly blank, "I hadn't expected it to be you."

Raid put down his "work," and got to his feet a moment later, and then, Link could see that behind him, there was a low-lying apparatus, which seemed to connect a pair of what hylians called "lightning gems" to a large chair. Link estimated that the device could probably have killed a normal person. It certainly didn't look like anything that a sane being would have designed.

Raid turned and looked Link full in the face at that point, however, and Link saw tragedy in his eyes, so he gave Raid the same courtesy, looking him in the face too. However, Link still didn't dare to take his hand off of his sword for even a moment.

"The dark lord has armies of zombies, stalfos, and other undead." Raid informed Link calmly, "Now he wants me to build him an army of even less natural creatures; like myself; constructed men. I'll certainly do my best. Still, if you were able to slay Ritoan and his armies, you must be stronger than you look."

Link said nothing, but merely absorbed those words, trying to determine whether there was some kind of hidden meaning behind them. He wondered if Raid was merely commenting that he didn't think he had a chance against Link. However, there had to be more to his words than that. He was trying to say something else; something deeper.

"I admit, however," Raid continued, his face suddenly starting to show horrible sadness, "that I only obey the dark lord reluctantly, because this ruthless conquest tears at my soul."

That comment surprised Link. Ritoan had been an unusual type of individual, but there hadn't been much complexity to his motives or cravings. Raid seemed to be a very different kind of person.

"You don't follow him willingly?" Link asked, amazed by the giant's words. However, in a moment, Raid started to look away, and his expression grew somewhat shameful, as if he'd forgotten just how many terrible things he'd done in the past.

"No, I do obey him of my own will," Raid tried to explain, though he still looked very sad as he spoke, "but I feel torn between obligations. I have many obligations to my lord Tassicle, and I also have many to the life-forms in the world. I sometimes feel as though the conquest he desires is poisoning my heart, as surely as it poisons the lands we roam through."

"You know how this has to end." Link said in reply, his expression growing stern as soon as he realized the extent of the giant's intellect.

"That's the other part of this that worries me." Raid continued, with an even sadder expression, "I don't even know if it's possible to vanquish Lord Tassicle. His power is terrifying. I have great power too, but I wasn't able to stop him from conquering my land. What makes you think you can?"

For several moments, Link said nothing. He merely stared into Raid's eyes, deep in thought. At last, when he'd given the matter some consideration, he replied, "I don't know if I can, but I have to try."

For the first time since he'd arrived at Death Mountain's peak, Link saw Raid smile a bit; not in true gladness, nor in amusement, but in something like appreciation.

"Bless you, young one." Raid said after a moment, "You have hope; a precious thing that I lost long ago. You'll do what you're driven to do, but although I bless you for your courage, I'm too afraid of Lord Tassicle to let you leave this place. Right now, I'm driven by fear, and I have to fight you, because I don't fear you nearly as much as I fear my lord."

Link had shed very few tears since he'd returned to Hyrule, but he shed one just then, and his expression was agonizing, as he replied to the old, unnatural giant, "I can tell you're a noble and intelligent soul. It hurts to have to fight you, but there are worse pains in the world."

"There's the pain of never living for an ideal; never sharing freely with my hylian brothers and sisters; never being proud of what we've made of ourselves. I can't give up on those things. That would be the worst pain in the world. If you can't stand down, then we have to fight. It seems to be our destiny."

"Yes. We must fight." Raid said just as sadly, because it was evident that each recognized the other's noble spirit, yet both were driven into that conflict by motives that they couldn't ignore. With those last few words, the conflict began.

Raid made the first move. At once, he was dashing off to one side, then just when it seemed like he was about to strike, he vanished, and Link saw only a blur for a moment. However, Link had been preparing for something like that ever since the day Mazar had nearly destroyed him.

With all the speed he could manage, Link drew his sword with one hand, and rotated it on the tip of his thumb, striking out in all directions at once. The size of Raid's arms was long enough, that his first punch connected with Link's back, but Link's sword also managed to scrape across Raid's chest.

The result was that Raid was sent flying into the rock wall opposite Link, and Link himself would have gone flying over the cliff face, but twisting in mid-air, he managed to grab onto the rock wall with his hookshot, and swing back to the mountaintop again.

Raid's incredibly-tough skin had protected him from the better part of Link's last attack, but he still had a small gash in his chest. Trying to take advantage of that weakness quickly, Link leapt towards his enemy, when suddenly, Raid's muscles seemed to pulse with an unknown force, and within moments, a bright, white bolt of energy came charging out of Raid's fist, and made contact with Link's body, causing his every cell to throb with pain.

The energy of lightning moved throughout the entire body of the Hero of Time, and when it seemed to have nowhere else to go, it struck downwards, into the ground, where it looked like it was dissipating into nothing.

Link collapsed on the ground, still clutching his sword through sheer instinct. He hadn't expected Raid to have a power like that, but then, he knew that he could hardly afford to trust the enemy to reveal their abilities all the time. He had to be able to rise to the challenge when his enemies hit him with some form of surprise attack.

A moment later, Link did indeed rise, but just as he was struggling to his feet, an enormous hand closed around his throat, and he felt even more of the terrible electricity traveling through his body, and into the ground. At last, a sharp, terrible impact to his jaw knocked him backwards again, where he collapsed onto the stone surface beneath him, eventually skidding to a stop.

The smell was terrible. Link could feel that parts of his body were being cooked alive by those attacks, but he couldn't let himself lose, just by being unprepared. Too much depended on him, and too many people had sacrificed themselves. Link knew that he needed to win for their sakes as well.

Against all laws of reason and common sense, Link rose to his feet, brandishing his weapon carefully. As quickly as he could, he ducked to one side, and tossed a deku nut to the ground, momentarily obscuring Raid's vision. Then, he dashed in, and planted his weapon into Raid's leg.

More electricity came out of the giant's wound, traveling through the sword and into Link's body. Link screamed in pain, as he wrenched his weapon loose, and tumbled backwards, colliding with the rock wall behind him. Raid, in turn, roared in agony of his own, and clutched his leg. The sword had, for a moment, gone through one of his bones.

Raid had many powers which he didn't like to use, and he was being forced to use one of them at that very moment. It wasn't often that a person of his strength, speed and intellect; a person who could fire bolts of electrical energy, and whose very bones were charged with it; it wasn't often that he was seriously wounded. But when he was, he had one power to combat such threats.

Raid clapped both hands together slowly, making every effort not to scream, and Link watched in terrible dismay as the clouds above where they were fighting seemed to darken, and two bolts of lightning struck the mountaintop at once. One struck Raid, the other Link, but unlike Raid's previous attacks, Link felt no burning sensation. In fact, there was no new pain at all.

However, Link also knew that his sword was, for the moment, useless. If striking one of Raid's bones could nearly kill Link, he knew that he couldn't afford to cut his enemy with his sword anymore.

Slowly, Link placed his weapon back into its sheath, and broke into something resembling a dash. As Link rushed towards his opponent as fast as his still-aching muscles would let him, striking out with his gold-covered fists, he could feel Raid's skin give under his assault, and with every punch he delivered, there seemed to be an electric flash, as though the forces at Raid's control were buckling.

However, in just a moment more, Link saw, in horror, that Raid was getting back up again; almost casually. In just a second, he'd knocked Link away with a monstrous backhand attack. Link soon found himself sprawled out on the rocky ground again, and struggling to his feet. He was horrified, however, by what he saw next.

The gash that Link had made in Raid's chest was completely gone. Likewise, although his leg was still bleeding, his bone seemed to have mended itself.

Link didn't understand for a moment, and started asking himself rapid questions in the silence of his thoughts. Was that one of the powers of Raid? Did he heal at amazing speed, as well as moving very fast?

Quickly, Link rushed to his feet again, and grabbed a nearby boulder, hurling it at Raid's head. As soon as the boulder left Link's hands, there was a flash of light, and another, as it struck Raid, knocking him over.

Once again, however, Raid rose to his feet, and that time, he did it much more easily. The bleeding in his leg had stopped completely.

Link's mind raced as he searched for some answer. How was all of that happening? Was Raid immortal, like Nyarokai had been? No. He'd apparently been beaten by his lord at least once, but how else could that miraculous healing be explained?

Suddenly, however, the explanation dawned on Link. It was him; his attacks were what had healed that giant. Somehow, when he struck out, he was healing Raid, instead of harming him.

It didn't take Link long to realize just how his attacks were healing Raid either. The flashes of light that appeared whenever Link hit Raid in any way must have been the answer. They must have been some healing method for him; activating when an attack or other object left Link's grasp.

As Link was pondering all of that, another bolt of lightning crackled to the ground in the distance, and Link could see an image for a fraction of a second; a pair of large, dome-like shapes, surrounding himself and his enemy. When the lightning vanished, the domes seemed to vanish too, but Link could tell that they were still there; invisible, but still having their effect on the two combatants.

That was the only explanation, and Link understood it all at once. Raid had cast some form of spell, which created invisible domes of electricity over himself and his opponent, so that every time Link touched Raid, or struck out against him, electricity came from his dome and entered the body of the undead giant.

Raid's bones were powered by electricity, so it only made sense that electricity was the source of his life, and if it was the source of his life, it wasn't too much of a stretch to think that it could heal him too.

Link thought carefully as Raid began to rush towards him again, obviously planning to deliver the final blow. He thought about the force that powered the fields, and the ways that he'd seen electricity react in the past. Then, with a single, swift motion, Link drew his sword, and held it upside-down, like a dagger.

Raid's face seemed to fall when he saw that, and in that one change of expression, Link could see a complex motive concealed. Raid knew that he had to fight Link with every ability he had at his disposal, but deep down inside, Raid didn't really want to win that battle, and he thought that Link was planning to drive the sword into him again.

After all, if Link used the sword on Raid, it would only heal the giant once again, and electrocute Link in the process. Maybe Raid thought that Link was surrendering, in a sense, by attacking in a way that could only doom him. However, Link had a plan, and he had no intention of throwing his life away. If his plan worked out, he still had a chance to beat Raid, and maybe even come out alive too.

Holding his blade over his head for just a moment, Link plunged it directly into the ground, and screamed aloud, as all the energy of the electric dome that surrounded him found its way into the dirt through his sword. Some of it traveled through him in that moment before his sword had been grounded, but he bore the pain because he had to.

Then, with every ounce of the remarkable strength afforded him by his magic gauntlets, and his own impressive training, Link yanked the sword sideways, pulling it through the solid bedrock towards his enemy, and knocked the hilt of his weapon against Raid's knee.

By the time that Raid saw what Link was planning, it was too late for him to react. The electricity of both of their fields, and much of the energy in Raid's body was draining into the rock beneath them, and Link was close enough to deliver a powerful uppercut to his enemy's jaw, knocking him backwards, into another rock wall. When he delivered that punch to Raid, he was gratified to see that there was no flash of light, and Raid seemed to have taken nothing but damage from that attack.

Sparks of power sprung from Raid's eyes, as he summoned up even more energy from within, and all at once, it started to spread out from the giant's body in every direction, like some kind of globe, full of energy, continuing to expand further and further outward. In response to that monstrous, electrical attack, Link shoved both hands against the ground, when he saw that, and all at once, the spell of Din's Fire spread outward from his body, rising to meet the massive electric force.

For close to fifteen seconds, the two forces of energy pushed against one another; electricity and heat struggling for dominance, until finally, both seemed to fizzle out, fading away into nothingness. By then, Link could tell that Raid was running out of energy, but was determined to use every bit he had left to his best advantage.

Link watched his opponent carefully, as both of Raid's hands were suddenly covered in an electric glow, and he charged at Link, attempting to electrocute him with both fists, but although rock and gravel melted to slag under those blows, the Hero of Time dodged the super-fast punches with swift precision.

Raid's energy had begun to diminish, and that had slowed him down a bit, but Link was still having a rather tough time dodging everything that was thrown at him. He'd swat aside one blow, kick another away, duck, then jump back and land on his hands.

After that, Link would kick Raid in the chin with both feet at once, then use both legs to swat his hands back again, and spin through the air in a horizontal cartwheel, that almost no one else in Hyrule could have performed, striking out with all four of his limbs at once, as Raid vainly tried to peg Link with his deadly, electric grip.

It was a battle where the inhuman speed of one combatant was being countered by the acrobatic prowess of the other, but both were giving it their best. Neither one was willing to give in to the other. Both combatants had thought their actions through, and neither was going to surrender.

At last, Link decided that the time had come to end the fight. Raid had slowed down so much, that Link could block the blows with his hands alone by that point, without too much difficulty. Raid still would have been too fast for an average hylian to fight, but he wasn't a challenge to Link anymore.

Soon, Link had grabbed Raid's arms in his own at the elbows, and braced his feet against the giant's chest. Then he leapt backwards, out of Raid's reach, and grabbing a nearby boulder in his well-armored hands, Link lifted the massive rock over his head. In moments, the fight was over.

The electric aura had vanished from Raid's hands before long. He knew he was dying, and the electricity he had left would do nothing to change that.

"Well done... hero..." Raid gasped out, with the last breath left in his electrically-charged lungs, "May your luck last against our master... as well..."

Then, without another word, Raid closed his eyes again, and his breathing slowed down, then finally stopped.

Link wasn't really sure how to feel over the death of his enemy. In a sense, there was tragedy in Raid's story. He'd been powerful, but not powerful enough to overcome his master; brave, but not brave enough to stand up to the undead lord that had conquered his homeland.

Raid hadn't been strong enough to be a hero, but he'd still deserved better than to die on a mountainside like that, in the service of a bloodthirsty tyrant. It was almost enough to make Link shed another tear, though he knew it wouldn't have done any good.

"I'm sorry." Link muttered under his breath, though he wasn't sure whether Raid could hear him anymore, "I didn't want to hurt you. I know you weren't really evil. Maybe this whole thing was as much a nightmare for you as for the rest of us. Ritoan said you'd betrayed Tassicle before, and I know why. With a gentle heart like yours, you must have felt like you were compromising yourself every time you followed one of his orders. I wish I could have saved your life, but at least now you won't have to follow his commands anymore. Maybe your spirit will finally be free."

Then, as the heat of combat passed, Link realized once again that most of his body had been fried beyond use, and collapsed under the injuries that he'd previously forced himself to ignore. In his entire body, he only had enough strength to let out one last whistle.

* * *

Note: This chapter covers parts 61-84 in the original format.


	7. P1 Ch7 The Lord of Air and Darkness

Note: If you started reading in the original format, look to the bottom of the chapter for a guide on how to find where you left off.

* * *

Chapter 7: The Lord of Air and Darkness

* * *

After the battle at Death Mountain was over, the gerudo and shiekah climbed the cliff face, and found Link lying unconscious on the ground. They were able to summon a few fairies to heal his wounds, though Stalflare still hadn't woken up, and soon, the Hero of Time was able to climb down the cliff face on his own, and return with the army he'd assembled to Lon Lon Ranch.

A few gorons had resurfaced by that time, headed by Darunia, who gave Link his blessing as a sage, and soon, the color of orange had been added to the many glowing colors, which emanated from Link's body at various points.

Stalflare was still asleep throughout that entire time, despite the best efforts of the fairies and kokiri to wake him up, but after a while, a few of the other gerudo managed to carry him back to the ranch as well, though it was quite a long way to have to carry a humanoid body.

On the whole, the battles at and around Kakariko had been won very nicely, but there had been casualties too. One zora and four gerudo had died in the assault on Kakariko, and the sword that Link had used for so long, and in so many fights was damaged beyond repair. Its repeated exposure to strong electrical currents, magical flames, and the shock of being dragged through a ton of bedrock had turned Link's sword into a useless lump of slag. Link was offered a number of other swords from the gerudo and shiekah once they realized that his royal hylian sword had been demolished, but he declined all of their offers, saying that he had other weapons that he could use, and besides, he suspected that he'd be getting a replacement for his sword soon.

The following morning, Stalflare was still asleep at eight o'clock, so Link took a moment to step into the medical tent and take a good look at the Gerudo wizard, to see if he could determine what was wrong with him. For several moments, Link examined Stalflare's wounds as best he could, but most of them were either healed, or not really dangerous at all. Link could tell that Stalflare's mana was unusually low, but apart from that, he couldn't find anything wrong with him. After a while, Link realized that there wasn't really anything more he could accomplish there, so instead, he turned to face the fairies, who'd been watching over Stalflare all that time, and addressed one of them directly.

"Stalflare really ought to have a lot more magic than he does." Link explained to the small, female fairy who floated closest to their central patient, "Do you think you can do anything about that?"

"Yes, sir," the fairy replied, though she obviously wasn't feeling very good, "but it's going to take a while. We've been trying to restore his magic for hours, and it doesn't seem like it's working."

When he heard those words, however, Link found himself wishing that Zelda had been there. After all, Link knew how to fight in times of war, and how to live in peace with others, but magic wasn't his specialty, and Zelda knew more about it than anyone he'd ever met, except maybe Ganondorf Dragmire.

Still, Link had an ugly feeling that Zelda was in deeper trouble than anyone realized. He knew that the people slain by Hyrule's new enemies became undead themselves. If that was the case, then he had to wonder what had happened to Zelda. After all, Impa claimed that she'd seen Zelda die with her own eyes, and if Zelda had been killed by the undead, there was no telling what kind of beast she'd become.

Link felt absolutely terrible, but he knew that for the moment, it was Stalflare he had to worry about. He'd done about all he could for Stalflare himself, but Impa knew more about magic than Link did, so he decided that the best bet would probably have been to ask her to look over Stalflare, to see if she could determine what was really wrong with him.

Link made his request quickly, and Impa, ever-efficient in her duty, rushed right to the medical tent at once, though Link hadn't meant for his suggestion to sound so urgent, and in only a few minutes, she'd left the tent again, looking very thoughtful and concerned, and seeming to be deep in thought over whatever she'd just discovered.

"Hmmm..." Impa muttered to herself, obviously about ready to report her findings to Link as she approached him from across their makeshift camp, "If I didn't know better, I'd say he's in some kind of meditation, but I've never seen one so deep in a Gerudo before."

That was a big surprise, of course, and Link was eager to know more about it.

"Meditation for what?" Link asked, concerned about his friend's health.

"I'd have to know more about his past to be sure," she commented, looking contemplative as she spoke, "but I'd say his body is trying desperately to prepare for some massive catastrophe..."

* * *

Stalflare found himself surrounded by a terrible darkness. He couldn't even see his hand in front of his face, but he could tell that all his powers were on full blast, and that his muscles were tensed up, as though from a terrifying battle. He struck out at the darkness with a spell of fire, and found that a small spot of it; about an inch wide, was lit up by his spell, but it wasn't enough. Quickly, he struck out at the darkness again, that time with all his might, but the area lit up was still only about a foot in all directions, and still pitiful compared to the darkness. Eventually, after expending his power like that for so long, Stalflare collapsed to the ground, which was apparently beneath his feet, though he couldn't see it through the dark. He was exhausted, and he could barely even breathe anymore.

However, just then, Stalflare heard a voice coming at him from the darkness. It was deep and cruel, and it spoke to him boldly...

"You should just quit now, little mage. You'll never be able to beat me. I'll always be better than you are, even if I am younger than you."

In the midst of that terrible darkness, Stalflare screamed, and as he screamed, he felt his strength return, little by little; stronger than before...

* * *

Link and Impa left the unconscious Stalflare in the care of the fairies, where he'd been since the fight with Ritoan, and moved out into the main body of Lon Lon Ranch by mid-morning, where the others in their army were preparing for the next assault. The Gorons had dug a few holes in the ground, and were practicing rolling in and out of them, while the Shiekah were tossing orbs of mana up and down like yo-yos, for practice. The Zora eggs were close to hatching, but they still weren't quite ready yet, so Link was glad to have all the other allies he could get.

With Impa's blessing, and with Darunia's, Link's power had grown a great deal, and there was no question that his army had benefitted from the addition of the few shiekah and gorons who'd joined it, but on the way back to Lon Lon Ranch, Link had told Impa everything he'd experienced on Death Mountain's peak, word for word. Raid had definitely given Link a lot of new information about the nature of the threats they were likely to face next; especially when it came to the identity of their lord, and that information had clearly produced new worries in Impa.

"What about that 'Tassicle' person who Raid told you about?" Impa asked Link as the two of them headed for the center of the ranch together, "The problem is that we still have no clues about the real nature of his powers, or ideas for how to fight him."

"Well, that's true." Link admitted, though he didn't look too upset by that fact, "Still, I don't think I'll have to fight him alone. There's still one other favor I want to call in from Hyrule Castle Town."

Impa wasn't sure what Link could have meant by that. She'd already told him that all the Hylians were dead, and she couldn't understand what kind of favor he could hope to find in that barren, scarred section of the kingdom. In fact, she was even starting to wonder whether he was looking for help from dogs or birds. To fight against the lord of all the undead that they'd already seen, Link must have had plans to summon a powerful force of nature, but for the life of her, Impa couldn't have predicted what those plans were.

* * *

That afternoon, Link and his army marched to Hyrule Castle Town. In less than an hour after they'd started marching, his army had set up camp on the outskirts of town, but Link still hadn't shared his plans with any of the others. If he really did have another favor to call in, he was being pretty secretive about it.

"I expect there to be some stalfos and redeads here," Link told them all as they finished setting up camp, "so we need to be careful, and keep an eye out for trouble. In the Zora's Domain, I tried to scout ahead, and return with news about what kinds of forces we had to face, and I'd like to do the same thing here. In the meantime, I want everyone to keep training, and remember that your power is the only one that Hyrule can rely on in this fight. It's going to be your job to stand up for life itself; to fight for your lives, and for the very value of life. There's nothing more precious than that, and I know I can count on all of you."

With those parting words, Link used his hookshot to swing up into a nearby tree, just over the houses of Hyrule Castle, and was off across the charred roofs of the castle's town, and into the very center of the area. There, just as he'd expected, Link could see many redeads, which he suspected had once been hylians, and many stalfos as well, but he couldn't see any sign of the ghost, or the cloaked creature that Nalabal had described as being the last of the leaders of that undead army.

Link suspected that it would be safe to assault the castle town with everything they had, since both of the undead champions they'd heard about were probably guarding the larger structures, like the temple, and the castle itself. He could worry about regaining control of the Temple of Time once the undead in the main body of Hyrule Castle Town were slain, he decided. Besides, Link's forces might be able to find some extra food or weapons in some of the houses or shops of the town.

Soon, Link returned to his army, and told them everything he'd seen, then began to give orders about which fighters should attack where, and at what times. He knew he had to stage it, so that they could ambush and defeat each group of undead, before they had time to warn the others, and that wasn't going to be easy to plan out at all.

* * *

To Stalflare, it seemed like he was surrounded by darkness for years. The darkness grew more intense every second, but so did his powers. He was fighting the darkness back with a constant stream of fire before long, and by that point, he was easily able to see his entire body, and over a yard in each direction away from him, without tiring or running out of magic. In that place, his magic seemed to return to him much faster than normal, as if something or someone were aiding him in his struggle to triumph over the darkness that surrounded him.

Slowly, he increased the power of his flame spells even more, and the darkness retreated a bit further. Stalflare began to feel his powers increase, in an attempt to keep up the assault that he was leveling against his foe.

"Meh." he heard from the darkness, "You're getting better, but you're still no match for me. I'm all around you when I want to be, and my magic is only the tip of the iceberg. You can never overcome me, because you can never reach me. Hahahahaha!"

Infuriated by the taunting voice, Stalflare threw caution to the wind, channeling the full extent of his power into one huge blast of flame, which seemed to clear up miles of darkness for a few seconds, before he felt his power giving out, and collapsed to the ground, and then the darkness surrounded him again, taunting him once more.

"Anybody can manage that level in bursts." Stalflare heard the voice taunting him from the endless abyss, "But your stamina is too low. Now, me; I could keep this up all day."

But, as Stalflare sat, oppressed by the darkness, he felt that his stamina was definitely growing greater, and that it would only be a matter of time before he could keep it up too...

* * *

The fairies frowned as they continued to channel power into Stalflare's prostrate body. Despite their best efforts, his mana levels had continued to rise and fall throughout the procedure, as though he were expending huge amounts of magic for some reason. However, none of them could tell why, or determine where all of his magic was going.

* * *

The undead around the mask shop walked back and forth, some slow, some faster, and all in a circle, to detect any intruders from any side. Unfortunately for them, they didn't see the first flying boulder until it was too late.

From one side came two rock-hard creatures, rolling like pillbugs into their enemies, and bowling them over completely. From another, a volley of arrows shattered bones, and wedged themselves in the rotting flesh of redeads. From the third side came what appeared to be a tornado, made from flames. Before any of the undead could escape, they were overwhelmed.

The Gorons unrolled, the Gerudo emerged, and the Shiekah dispelled their flame assault as the last of the enemies grew still. It had been a swift fight, though not as quiet as they'd hoped, but the area around the mask shop was theirs again.

Not far off, two more shiekah had overcome the small legion of adversaries that patrolled the back alley of the town, and the last goron and three zoras had recaptured the fountain and shops. The first three battles had gone swiftly, thanks to the element of surprise, although they all knew that the fight was far from over. Their recapturing of the main body of Hyrule Castle Town would surely draw out additional enemies, which they weren't looking for, so their next move was to regroup, and prepare for retaliation by the enemy.

* * *

After a while, Mido had been called into the medical tent, to examine Stalflare. Since Saria's death, he was the oldest of all the kokiri who remained, and it was expected that his age would have granted him some knowledge that could help.

Mido examined Stalflare for a little while, in what seemed like an almost careless way. He felt up and down his spine, and timed the distance between his breaths, listening to Stalflare's breathing with a hand around his ear. He also performed a number of other small experiments, which were easily mistaken for ordinary games, the way he did them. At last, he started looking interested, one eyebrow persistently higher than the other as he grinned to himself over what he'd just discovered.

"The big man's a rare case." Mido observed with an interested smirk, "I'm sure he'll survive, and he'll eventually wake up, but his mana's shot to the underworld, like some kind of force is messing with his mind while he's asleep. I think I've seen something like this before, but I can't quite remember where..."

Mido scratched his head through his bright red hair, as he sat down to think about it. Stalflare was a sorcerer, and had trained his body and mind into a deep awareness of supernatural forces, which went beyond the five basic senses. He'd been in fight after fight, nearly destroyed in each one, until... Until...

For several moments, Mido tried harder to think than he ever had before, until he suddenly realized what was happening. He'd seen something like that happen to a young kokiri a mere four hundred and fifty years ago, when she'd tried to commune with the forest spirits, at a time when monsters were abnormally fierce.

When a sorcerer trained their body and mind to get in touch with something outside their normal senses, it gave them a sort of subconscious "seventh sense," that warned them when those unseen forces were about to become dangerous. The problem was, it didn't always warn them out loud, and it didn't warn them directly. The warning manifested itself as a type of sense that something was wrong; a sense that more was needed; a sense in the body and soul, that the magic around them was about to come down on them like a ton of bricks. The body's response to that sense was... was...

Suddenly, the memories of those past times came flooding back, and Mido remembered the rest. The body's response to that sense that something was wrong was to totally shut itself down, and focus on expanding its own powers as much as possible in a limited amount of time. That might have been what was happening to Stalflare. His body was probably demanding that he undergo some kind of training in his dreams, in which case, he was like a bud, ready to bloom into a flower when the danger approached. If so, his new powers might manifest fully when the danger was at its worst, or maybe not until just before then.

Immediately, Mido told the fairies about what he'd realized. None of them, it seemed, had thought of that possibility, but then, none of them could claim to be qualified enough to tell him he was wrong, so he smiled arrogantly, and told them to just keep repairing Stalflare's mana level for as long as they possibly could.

"What do you think this process will do to him?" one fairy asked Mido, just as he was about to leave the medical tent.

"I can't say." Mido replied with a shrug, "If he's careful, he might wake up feeling better than ever. Depends how much effort he puts into it. If he's not careful, well... Kokiri don't die, except by being killed. I don't know what effect this process would have on a mortal. His own power might kill him."

* * *

After hours of struggling against the darkness, Stalflare had succeeded in lighting up all the ground that he could see almost constantly, and he knew where his foe really was. As he looked upward, he began to fire blasts of flame into the sky, like a searchlight, trying to seek out his rival, but from the darkness came the taunt once again, "Oh, yes. Can you find me here, or there? Can you do anything right? I can't wait to find out. You'll never be able to beat me unless you can meet me in the air!"

Into the darkness, Stalflare screamed once more, as a terrible pain shot through his body. He could feel his magic growing by the second, but it wasn't enough. To pull through and defeat that foe, he needed something more.

* * *

The forces of retaliation that Link had expected came from the path to Hyrule Castle. The undead creatures that came forth were fearsome, and powerful beyond what he would have expected. More than once, he was attacked by a creature that seemed to be some kind of giant, with horns and wings. Link would have had a much harder time defeating them if not for his ice arrows, which seemed to dent their defenses considerably. Fortunately, he only had to slay three of the brutes, before his army had claimed victory over the undead attack force.

"I don't expect too many more attacks," Link told the others, as he began to organize a team to explore the Temple of Time, "but most of you should stay here, just in case another small attack force finds its way into the town."

Then, taking two kokiri, two shiekah, a fairy and a zora with him, Link pushed open the doors of the only building in town that seemed completely undamaged; the Temple of Time.

In all of his time spent living in Hyrule, Link had never before found the doors of the Temple of Time closed, and for a moment he wondered who'd closed them. He gestured to the others that they should wait at the door, when suddenly, from seemingly all directions at once, he heard a cruel, female voice saying "About time you got here. I've been waiting for you."

At once, Link felt something cold grab him by the foot, and yank him up into the air, but he shook his leg rapidly, and the thing dropped him in response, causing him to fall to the marble floor of the darkened temple on his back with a thud.

"Lura Reutai" One of the shiekah said, causing a series of small lights to appear on the ceiling, and illuminate the temple from within.

Link could see a little better by those magical lights, but he still couldn't find his assailant, who he was sure had traveled upward. That probably meant that she could fly, but figuring out where she was was going to be a problem, since he couldn't see her, or hear her footsteps at all.

"You won't find me in a million years if you just look for me the old-fashioned way." came the taunting, female voice again. Then, suddenly, something popped out of a nearby wall, and seized Link again, nearly dragging him through the opposite one. He might have broken a bone on that wall, if not for the fact that he braced his shield against it, just in time to prevent himself from being dragged any further into it. Masonry was scattered in all directions when the mirror shield hit the wall with so much force and speed. Then, all at once, the creature re-appeared, humanoid in shape and size, definitely female, and wearing a shiekah uniform, but without the traditional head coverings, so that her long hair was visible.

However, something was wrong about the shiekah woman's color and consistency. Where there should have been colors, there was only a dim, white glow, a series of shadows, and the combination of the two into shades of gray. The blacks, whites and grays were visible, but there was no color at all, and when the shadows and the glow faded too much, Link could see directly through her. Obviously, the being standing in front of him wasn't even a living person. It was a ghost, and it was the ghost of Princess Zelda.

"I've been waiting for you for hours." Zelda said in a ghostly, echoing voice, her hair flowing slowly, as though in a wind that no living person there could feel, "My lord wanted me to bring him your body. He said you'd be his greatest servant, once you were dead. That's probably true."

For a moment, Link could hardly believe his eyes, however. Something about that whole situation wasn't right, and it seemed that Princess Zelda was already reading his thoughts.

"Why? Why can't this be real, Link?" Zelda asked, in a tone that sounded too vindictive to have come from her at all, "As one of the most powerful psychics in this kingdom, doesn't it make sense that I should become a ghost under their rule, and even one of their leaders?"

"No." Link replied with an expression of incredulity on his face, "That I understand. I just don't see what possible reason you could have for helping these creatures. You know me, and you know them. You can't be so frightened of their power, that you'd willingly do their bidding."

For a moment, Zelda's smirk faltered, as she began to stutter, and lose track of what she was trying to say.

"Link... I can't... I have a tough time expla..."

Then, all at once, an expression of shock, fear, and even rage passed across Zelda's face, as though she'd been wearing a disguise, which had just been drawn away, and she cried out, "HELP ME LINK! HELP! I CAN'T CONTROL..."

Then, it all passed, and she donned her smirk again, saying, "Whoops. I guess the cat's out of the bag now."

Link's expression was one of grim determination by that point, however, as he replied, "I guess so. All this time, I've been looking for possible reasons why dead hylians would serve the undead, and all this time, it's been something as simple as enslaved wills. Some of the others had their own reasons for helping and hurting, but not you. You're doing what you do because you're being controlled by your master, and even then, only just barely. The same was probably true of the Deku Tree, and the others I've watched die recently."

"Obviously." Zelda observed, with the same arrogant smirk that told Link that she was still under the sway of the undead, "The people of Hyrule were much too pure-hearted to do our bidding; especially the hylians. We couldn't have turned them to our side by any means. The only option was mind control, but it was an effective method."

By then, however, Link's expression had changed again, and powerful anger was starting to spread across his face, which was terrible to see, as he said, "At first, I thought that maybe your master had some noble intentions, and he just needed to be shown the error of his ways, but now, I'm sure that's not the case. He's a wicked fiend, and he knows it. Only the vilest kind of creature would impose a lifestyle on someone by force."

"Aheheh. Perhaps." Zelda chuckled with a confident grin, "But imposing death on someone by force is even more cruel, and I see that I must resort to that now."

For a moment, neither one said anything. They merely stared at one another in anger, then Link broke the silence by asking, "Are you saying you want to kill me?"

"Indeed."

At first, Link's expression of anger persisted, but then, all at once, a grin crept across his face, then a full smile, then he opened his mouth and did something he'd never done before.

Link laughed at Princess Zelda. He laughed loud and long, and he was still laughing when she punched him in the stomach.

Link was knocked back nearly a yard by the force of Zelda's blow, but he hadn't stopped laughing at any point. In fact, it was almost as if the punch had never happened.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" Link asked, as his laughter died down, "You never were strong enough to hurt me physically. You used the element of surprise to drag me around the temple before, but now that I know you're a ghost, I can dodge anything you can throw at me."

Enraged, Zelda charged forward, and pummeled Link's face and stomach with a volley of blows, so fast that some of those gathered could barely see them, but Link saw every one. Zelda finished that attack with a sharp uppercut, but Link's chin rose only a couple of inches under that blow, and he seemed to not even be bruising. On top of that, Link didn't look conflicted anymore either. He wasn't afraid of fighting the ghost of the princess, because he knew that the person fighting him wasn't really his friend.

Realizing that her attack pattern wasn't working, Zelda leapt back, only to find herself backing into the Hero of Time's chest. He'd moved before she'd even seen him, with something close to inhuman speed, and that was when she knew that a new tactic was in order.

"You could keep hitting me with those mushy punches for years," Link told her sternly from behind, "But you still wouldn't be able to kill me."

By that point, Zelda was starting to look a little worried, but she didn't have the opportunity to just give up anymore. She just wasn't free to make her own choices, the way she had been when she was alive.

"Maybe not." Zelda admitted angrily, after a few seconds, "But I'm capable of much more than just that."

At once, Zelda leapt further backwards, passed directly through the Hero of Time, and threw a volley of darts at him from behind. The darts were, like herself, ghostly and phantom-like, and as such, Link had a feeling that trying to block or deflect them would be a wasted effort, so instead, he zipped back and forth, weaving in and out of the path of the darts with relative ease. As he did that, a razor-sharp thread came flying towards his head, but he tilted it to one side, and missed being caught by it. Then, once again, the two adversaries faced one another.

"Are you about done?" Link asked in a tone of voice that sounded more annoyed than worried, "That kind of attack isn't even worth my time anymore."

Zelda's hair was standing almost directly up by that point. She was totally enraged by the arrogance of the Hero of Time, in supposing that she hadn't learned any tricks that could help her in a fight with him. At once, she placed both hands together, and an orb of flame appeared in front of her. Then suddenly, she disappeared, leaving it in mid-air. Link could sense that she'd appeared behind him moments later, made another orb of fire, just like the first, and traveled elsewhere in the room, where she'd made two more. Eventually, eight of the magical orbs surrounded Link from all sides, and traveled towards him simultaneously, with what would have been, to another hylian, great speed.

To Link, however, the speed of the fireballs seemed almost negligible. He fired his hookshot upward, and was clinging to the ceiling for a few seconds, before leaping backwards to the floor again, far enough away from the flame orbs, that the fiery explosions that occurred mere moments later didn't reach him, or any member of his team, who still stood at the doorway.

Just a moment later, Zelda had appeared behind Link, grabbed him by the shoulders, and hurled him clear across the room in a single motion. However, Link never lost his cool, even while he was soaring through the air. Quickly, he turned around in mid-air, braced his feet against the opposite wall, and leapt directly sideways, back towards Zelda, who simply seemed to be smiling. As Link got closer to Zelda, however, he passed right through her, and landed behind her on the floor.

"Don't you see?" Zelda asked in absolute derision, as Link leapt to his feet one more time, to face her, "As invincible as you may be, I'm even more so, because I can't even be touched, but I can still touch you, if I wish to."

By that point, Link was studying his enemy carefully. He hadn't expected Zelda to begin the fight with her physical powers, but since she had, it had afforded him the opportunity to learn more about the vulnerabilities of his foe. As she'd said, they were distressingly few in number, but Link knew that he had to keep looking, hoping and praying to find some way of defeating her.

At once, Zelda's eyes turned white, and Link watched, as chunks of marble wrenched themselves loose from the surrounding walls, and began to fly towards him from all directions. Link leapt hurriedly from one marble chunk to the next, ducking between cracks, and climbing around edges to dodge them, as he whipped out his bow, and fired a flaming arrow directly at Zelda. It passed through one of her arms, but Link could see that a small, ghostly glow remained, which seemed to cause Zelda a sort of dull ache.

"So," Link thought to himself in satisfaction, "she's invulnerable to impact, but not to some forms of radiant energy. Fire, in particular, looks like it's weakening her."

At once, Link dropped to the floor, and shoved both hands downward, hoping that his next attack would be able to do enough damage.

The flaming dome that constituted the spell of "Din's Fire" flew forth from Link's body only a short time later, turning the flying marble chunks into useless slag, and passing through Zelda's spectral form, leaving a dull glow behind, which seemed to have weakened her. It wasn't much, but Link was pleased to see it nonetheless.

"It's working!" Link thought to himself in satisfaction, as he started struggling to prepare another spell, "I can win!"

However, using two spells so close together was weakening Link, just as quickly as it was weakening Zelda. When he used his second spell, she seemed to realize what he was up to, and ducked into a wall to escape the flames. Link hissed in frustration when she did that, because he knew that he had, at best, enough power for one more big spell, and that might not be enough to defeat her. In fact, when Zelda reappeared a few moments later, Link was dismayed to see that she wasn't glowing at all anymore, and that was when he truly started to lose hope again.

"Flames tire me," Zelda said lazily, "as you seem to have figured out, but your powers are still not great enough to stop me. However..." she added, looking scornfully at him, "I think it will be best to finish this fight now. If you're unconscious, I'll be able to slay you, and I have a means of accomplishing that."

Suddenly, Link fell to the ground with a terrible, pounding pain coursing through his head. Every pain center in his body seemed to have been turned up all the way, as Zelda performed a continued assault on his mind; the one part of Link that was weaker than hers.

Link had never felt a greater agony in his life. In fact, it wasn't possible to feel more pain than that. He'd collapsed to the floor almost at once under the assault, writhing in endless suffering, until, a few moments later, his mind simply shut down.

"Now it's over." Zelda said with a smirk, as she brandished a ghostly dagger in one hand, floating closer to the fallen champion, "Hero or not, you'll die when I slit your throat."

With those words, Zelda grabbed Link roughly by his hair, and moved her other arm towards his neck, the dagger still in one hand...

* * *

Stalflare wondered, for a moment, why he was in such pain, but then, he realized that it was because his magic had begun to overload his body. He'd been expending magic for so long, and in so many different directions, that he just didn't have enough space in his body to contain all of the magic that he was generating. The field all around him was constantly lit up by a blaze of intense fire, but he needed something else to cast his magic on, or he knew that he might die then and there.

Because of that, Stalflare had started to cast his magic back upon itself, and although the bursting feeling that he'd had before had started to diminish, a new kind of pain was traveling through his body; even worse than before.

Stalflare felt his muscles change in a flash; the gray in his hair vanishing into black; the way it had been when he was just a young boy, and his cloak and hood began to feel almost oppressive. Swiftly, he removed them, and tossed them to the ground, and found, to his astonishment, that the enchantment that had once been a part of them; to protect their wearer from bad weather, seemed to have been drained out of them, becoming a part of his very flesh. His powers had grown so much in that place, that he'd begun to absorb magic from all around him. Even his staff was becoming little more than an extension of himself.

Suddenly, Stalflare felt his leather armor press hard against his chest, as if it was being yanked on from behind. In response, he began to pull off his armor, until he was dressed only in his cloth outfit, made in the gerudo style.

With his armor off, Stalflare's chest was completely bare, and so was his back, which, seconds before, had become the only part of him that really hurt. As Stalflare felt his excess magic power build up in his shoulder blades, he began to realize that they weren't behaving in the way that shoulder blades should behave. They'd begun to shift towards each other a bit, and to change in shape and size. They responded through his magic, to a need that his body had, of being something more than a mere gerudo...

* * *

When Stalflare had been brought back to the ranch for healing, the first order of business had been to remove his armor. Stalflare wore no shirt under that, but he did wear sturdy, padded socks, and a pair of short pants that came down only halfway to his knees. Both were made of woven cloth. While restoring his powers, the fairies had found it necessary for Stalflare to be lying on the table on his face, so that they could more easily channel extra mana directly into his spine, from which it could reach the organ in his rib cage that regulated his magic.

However, at that moment, for the first time in hours, Stalflare's mana levels began rising to their maximum and beyond. Fairies backed away from his body in awe and fear, as, before their very eyes, a rare, magnificent sight unfolded.

* * *

Stalflare screamed in agony at the darkness above him...

* * *

...as two big, black wings erupted from his back in a small shower of silver blood cells.

* * *

In all the gerudo legends, there were only a couple of reliable mentions of something like what had just happened, and always when the kingdom was in the greatest danger. Once in a while, a truly gifted sorcerer would rise beyond the nature of a mere gerudo, and into something much more; stronger, faster, and with greater longevity and magic power. Those creatures were, in the legends, called the "greide zwooda," which meant "targeted fliers" in the old language, which many of the hyrulian races still used for incantations, but most greide zwooda needed years of experience to learn how to fly with their wings.

"I've been a raven before." Stalflare muttered in awe, as he realized just what had happened to him, "For me, it'll be easy."

Indeed, it was. Stalflare leapt into the air, and at once, his wings turned in and out, flapping slowly, to take him higher into the air, with a speed much greater than the fifty miles per hour that he'd managed in his form as a magic raven. He seemed to be propelled more by his magic than by his wings.

Swiftly, Stalflare rose into the sky, casting flaming light in all directions, and there, he confronted the dark force of his enemy. With a great, final effort, Stalflare channeled a flaming spell into his fist, and swinging the fire around in a wide arc, he shattered his foe like glass.

However, even as Stalflare claimed his victory, he realized who it was that his adversary had been; which image from his past that his mind had chosen to motivate him to reach that stage, and he recognized that everything it had said to him there, in the depths of his mind, had been memories of real words from the past; real words from someone who he should have been honored to call a rival, if he hadn't been beaten over and over again.

Those days were over, though. Suddenly, Stalflare was the greatest one. Suddenly, he was the strongest, and as he began to wake up again, he heard one last comment, that his would-be rival had once said to him.

"Don't ever say your king never gave anything to you..."

* * *

As soon as Stalflare woke up on the makeshift operating table, in the medical tent, he leapt to his feet, and discovered that what he'd seen in his dreams was true. He could feel his wings still on his back, and he could tell that his powers had been increased immeasurably, restored by the fairies to their new maximum, a value which he, not being a mathematician, had difficulty determining. With a wave of his hand, his staff flew into his arms from its place on one of the tent walls, and as it did, his eyes were opened, and his senses gained a far greater clarity, as he absorbed the remaining magic from the staff.

Just like that, Stalflare could sense the grass of the field as it swayed, the waterfalls of the Zora's Domain, and close to Gerudo Valley, and he could sense the evil force coming from Hyrule Castle Town. However, he could also sense something else; another person; an ally about to die at the hands...

Stalflare looked around for a moment, at the many exhausted fairies in the tent. It would probably take them hours to recover their own magic, but he could tell that, for them, it had been worth it, just to witness his rebirth. For the first time in many years, Stalflare genuinely smiled, and said two words, which were rare for him, and indeed, for any gerudo.

"Thank you."

Then, the sorcerer walked outside, through the door of the tent, and at once, he was airborne, traveling with astounding speed to the location of his allies.

* * *

Zelda moved her dagger up to Link's throat in less than a second, and was about ready to cut him wide open with it, when suddenly, it flew from her hand, leaving no wound at all on the Hero of Time.

"What?" Zelda gasped aloud, looking around for the source of that nearly-unimaginable feat, but she didn't have far to look. Stalflare stood in mid-air in front of her, holding his staff with one hand, almost like a baton, and her ghostly knife in the other. His face was stern, as he assessed the situation.

"I see. The former Princess of Hyrule; now in the thrall of these fiends." Stalflare observed aloud, "I won't let you take Link's life, or anyone else's."

With a roar, Zelda charged at Stalflare, but at almost that very moment, she felt a horrible, crushing pain in her stomach.

Princess Zelda hadn't felt real pain since her death, but as she looked down for the cause of it, she saw that Stalflare's fist was planted directly into her stomach, and it wasn't passing through.

Zelda didn't know how it could have happened. The level of magic needed to physically harm a ghost was almost unimaginable. In response, she backed off, and started throwing marble chunks at Stalflare with her telekinetic powers, but he merely held out one hand, and a blinding flash lit up the entire chamber, forcing her to look away, and making her loose her concentration, which in turn, caused all the marble chunks to fall back to the floor. Then, he tucked his staff into his belt again, and an aura of fire seemed to erupt from his body, covering a three-foot radius away from him.

"Even I can't destroy a ghost," Stalflare said aloud, as the magical fire grew hotter, "but Link's flames don't burn nearly as hot as mine. Once you've been covered in them, you'll be too weak to ever harm anyone else!"

With those final words, the aura around Stalflare changed shape again, and soon, it had surrounded the ghostly Princess, who screamed, at first in pain, then finally, in relief.

Just like that, the fight was over. Zelda's ghost rested in mid-air, three feet above the floor, and with her focus off of him, the Hero of Time started to recover from the agony she'd been inflicting upon him. As Link got to his feet, however, his first thoughts were of the princess, and he immediately rushed over to the brightly-glowing ghost, looking concerned.

"Link," Zelda gasped weakly as he approached, and he could tell that she'd begun to regain some sense of herself, after spending so long under the control of the undead fiends, "Link, I couldn't... I couldn't help it. You have to slay their leader. It's the only way to really stop them."

"I know," Link reassured her as best he could, "but I don't know if I can do it alone. Can you still give me your blessing as a sage?"

"Yes." the ghostly Zelda coughed out, still looking exhausted, to the point of illness, "It's the only thing I can still do at this point. Link... I'm sorry."

Soon, however, a pink glow was added to the many others that coursed up and down Link's body, and without another word to anyone, Zelda closed her ghostly eyes, resting peacefully at last. Link spent a few moments looking down at the princess, as if wondering what else he could do for her, but at last, he got to his feet again, smiling just a little again.

"So that's why you were asleep for so long." Link noticed aloud, as he turned back to face Stalflare, with something of a satisfied smile, as though he'd gotten what he'd really wanted from that whole encounter, "Nice wings."

For a moment, Stalflare's old attitude returned, and he frowned deeply. He should, he realized, have anticipated that the Hero of Time would simplify a transformation like his by using an easy term like "nice wings." However, as Stalflare's flaming aura died down, Link put his hand on his old ally's shoulder, in an attempt to keep him from getting too upset.

"Sorry." Link said, though he was still smiling as he spoke, "I guess I'm not used to this kind of thing. You'll have to forgive me if I'm not behaving properly in the presence of a Greide Zwooda."

Stalflare gave a start of shock when Link spoke those words. It was an enormous surprise that he even knew about the legend. Of course, it might just have been that the hylians had a similar legend in their own land, or maybe Link had just known a lot more about the gerudo than anyone had wanted to admit. Still, it was hard to be suspicious of Link, given all he'd done in the past, and how he continued to smile in the friendliest way.

Eventually, Link seemed to have decided to skip the rest of the pleasantries, because he just said, "Meet me outside Hyrule Castle. We'll prepare for the assault soon. In the meantime, my group and I have a little work to do."

In the old days, Stalflare would have acted very indignant over that, but something about his new state of being had influenced his attitude for the better. Maybe the thought that he could crush most of the people in that place like grapes made him feel a greater need for gentleness, or maybe it was just that he felt a lot younger, and less bitter with the world. Still, whatever the reason, Stalflare wasn't too proud to obey the Hero of Time's orders, after all they'd been through together.

Link and his group apparently worked in the temple, until the evening, at which point, he dismissed them, and remained in the Temple of Time alone for a while. However, almost as soon as everyone else had left, a bright, shining light filled the Temple of Time, and radiated out into the streets, and for miles in every direction, people heard a shout that echoed, as if it had come from the lungs of a god.

"I understand!"

* * *

Stalflare looked upward in an irritated way. The sun had already set, and he was starting to wonder just what was keeping the Hero of Time. However, in that instance, he really didn't have anything to worry about, because almost as soon as the light of the sun faded away into nighttime, Link came rushing down the path from the castle town towards him.

"I'm back." Link exclaimed, breathing hard, but recovering from his jog quickly.

"It's about time." Stalflare said irritably, "What took you so long, and more importantly, how much longer do we have to hold our forces back?"

"Oh, we can storm the castle any time." Link replied in a casual tone of voice, "We should watch out for more monsters inside, but there's no reason to hold back now. As for what took me so long..."

Link paused for a moment at that point, trying to think of the best way to explain his general intentions, but eventually, he asked a simple question instead, "Do you play chess, Stalflare?"

"Yes I do." Stalflare replied, with a brief nod, as he started to understand Link's reasoning, "I'm fairly good."

"Then you must know the value of thinking a few moves ahead," Link tried to explain, "and of having a backup plan, in case things don't go your way."

"A backup plan, eh?" Stalflare thought to himself, before replying to Link aloud, "Alright. Our forces are ready whenever you are, then."

"Good." Link replied, sounding very hopeful, as he led the way into the castle, "Then let's go."

* * *

From atop the towers of Hyrule Castle, a pair of eyes watched Link and Stalflare entering the main doors of the Castle, and a voice chuckled to itself.

"Yes, Hero of Time; losses and tragedies, back and forth across the land. We've both lost things we worked hard to attain. Still, as I understand it, this is the one land where victory is absolute, and defeat is total. Claiming Hyrule is the ultimate gamble, but it might just be worth it, as long as you die. So far, everything's more or less gone the way I expected it to."

As the dark figure finished speaking, the wind changed direction again, blowing his long, blond hair forward into the moonlight. Then, the owner of the voice and the hair vanished, and in his place, a cloud of bats flew downward, toward the throne room that the Heroes would be arriving at soon.

* * *

The passages and stairways of the Castle had been darkened since Link had been there last, despite the golden candle-holders, and the candles they contained, attached to the stone walls. It was a cold, forbidding place, full of ancient stone and shadows, unlike the colorful, brightly-lit fortress that it had been when living hylians had ruled there. Everything about it seemed to have changed.

Quickly, Link dashed up the stairs, and through the hallways with Stalflare right behind him. Their forces followed shortly afterwards, making as little noise as possible, though it was difficult for the gorons to stay quiet.

It was during that dash that Stalflare noticed that Link had added the color yellow to the many glowing colors that surrounded him. Also, he had a sword on his back, but two sheaths for it. Stalflare found that puzzling, because he just couldn't see any reason for it, unless...

However, there wasn't enough time to think about things like that, because just at that moment, they'd reached the throne room, and Link shoved open the doors with his impressive strength, to exclaim aloud "Tassicle! You're through!"

The figure that sat on the throne of the hylian king was dressed in black cloth, with long, metal shoulder-pads, and a black cape with a red lining. He sat on the throne, not in the normal way, but sideways, with his feet over one of the armrests, and his back on the other. His long cloak rested on the floor on one side, and as Link barged in, he got up very slowly, seeming almost bored by the intrusion, as though he already knew everything about that fight, from its beginning, to its end.

"Your battle is definitely over, Hero of Time." Tassicle admitted, having apparently learned about him somehow, "But I doubt that I'll be the one to die today."

Soon, Tassicle snapped his fingers, and at once, there appeared a pack of wolves, a swarm of bats, and what looked like several demons, as if from nowhere. Stalflare had whipped out his staff in an instant, and was blasting their newly-discovered foes left and right, but although the wolves were dead in seconds, and the demons in minutes, the bats were too small and numerous to shoot down with ordinary magical attacks. Before long, they'd filled the doorway that Link and Stalflare had come in through, and as soon as that happened, they transformed into a huge, black barrier, and seemed to solidify, keeping the rest of Link's army out.

"It will take them a long time to break through," Tassicle observed casually, though he'd finally finished getting to his feet, "and by that time, the fight that really matters will be over. The two of you will be fighting me. That alone will decide this war. You know it as well as I do."

For a moment, Link had been dismayed by the turn that events had taken, but at last, he nodded slowly. It might even have been better that way, since there were fewer potential casualties to get in the way of their fight.

Tassicle stretched for a moment, and seemed to be exercising his hands, in preparation for some spell or other, but instead, in only a moment, the undead king whipped out his sword, and dashed off to one side, slashing out at Link. Link deflected the blow quickly with his shield, however, catching Tassicle off guard, and kicked him hard in the chest, but although the undead being was knocked back by that assault, it didn't seem to have done any real damage to him.

Seeming to realize that Link would be a difficult target to attack, Tassicle leapt into the air, and went after Stalflare instead. However, Stalflare was also too fast for him, ducking off to the side. As he did that, however, Stalflare brought his foot down on the flat of Tassicle's sword, shattering it to pieces with a single kick.

"No more of that." Stalflare remarked sharply, as he stood back up to his full height, "You'll fight us without weapons now."

For a moment, Tassicle just looked at his broken sword a bit sadly, as if it had meant something to him, then tossed it aside, and removed his shoulder armor. It seemed that he'd spent his entire life, and his unlife, in search of greater power, and in conquest. He was acting as if no one had ever been able to stand in his way, and yet, despite his obvious knowledge of magic, and the gift of undeath that he'd gained, he was losing ground, and it was clearly making him angry. Control, after all, made the world turn, and Tassicle wanted to be the highest rung on that ladder of control.

At first, when the dark lord Tassicle had heard of the Triforce, he'd been disappointed. After all, according to the legends, only living men and women could seize it, and grasp its power, which meant that he was barred from the very power that he craved, just by the nature of his own undeath, and he didn't dare to trust anyone else with the power absolute, to act as his intermediary.

Over the past several hundred years, Tassicle had formed for himself an empire of the living dead, which stretched across three continents, including the one where the pirate-princess Tetra had once reigned, and his ability to keep such an vast empire under his control was a source of great personal pride to him, but he knew that it would mean nothing if someone could just use the Triforce to wish it all away, so he had to have it for himself, even if he couldn't use it, just to keep others from using it to stop him.

Tassicle stood up straight as he tossed what was left of his armor to the floor. All of his ambitions had built up to that very moment, and that was quite probably the most important fight of his entire life. After that, the Triforce wouldn't be a threat anymore, and his eventual domination over the rest of the world was practically assured.

"Alright, then." Tassicle said, stretching his shoulders a bit, as he stood up to his full height, "You've proven yourselves against all my weapons, and all my servants. I suppose if you really want to test your skills against my powers, then you've more than earned that right."

With those words, the energy force surrounding Tassicle's body began to change. Link didn't recognize it, but Stalflare did. The undead lord was planning some sort of transformation.

In a flash, Tassicle was gone, to be replaced by a large, vicious wolf, moving around the room; faster than an average Hylian could have kept track of. Staflare's eyes darted back and forth for a few seconds, but after only a short time, his leg shot out, kicking the large wolf in the stomach. That caused it to transform again; into a swarm of bats, which attacked Link and Stalflare, but soon, Stalflare began firing flames out of his staff, and Link shot a whole volley of arrows into the air all at once. In no time, the bats were gone again, and there was nothing else there, as far as either of them could see.

"Is that it?" Stalflare asked, looking confused by the turn that things had taken, "Did we win already?"

Link didn't think that was likely, however, and sure enough, a moment later, he felt something strike out against him from behind. The blow only grazed his back, but even so, it was sufficient to cause him a fairly nasty bruise. Even that one brief attack was enough to inform Link of what he and Stalflare were facing at that point; their enemy was invisible.

Stalflare wasn't sure what to do next, but Link was. In just a moment, he'd closed his eyes, and started listening carefully. At once, Link's fist shot out to the left, and Tassicle became visible again, once more in human form, and was knocked to the floor by Link's attack, with a very stunned look on his face.

After only a few moments of looking stunned and confused, however, Tassicle started to grin again, and that didn't make Link feel any better. After all, Tassicle must have noticed their skill by that point, but he still wasn't afraid. Swiftly, the dark lord brought his hands together, and vanished again, but that time, the room had begun to fill with some kind of gas, and it was a type that Link recognized as being dangerous. Quickly, Link looked around for a way to counter Tassicle's most recent attack. Stalflare could crash through the ceiling if he had to, but that would only spread the gas to other areas. Aside from that, Link could really only think of one thing to do.

"Only one option left." thought Link, and after a moment, he drew the sword from the sheath on his back.

Stalflare gasped as he saw the blade that Link held in his hand. He'd seen that sword a hundred times before; in person, and in books. It was the greatest weapon ever made for striking down evil; the Master Sword.

Stalflare's head was full of questions. He wondered how the Master Sword could possibly be there, how Link could have gotten it, and what kind of sacrifices the hero had made to get hold of it again. However, for the moment, Stalflare's questions went unanswered, because Link had swung the Master Sword through the smoke just once, and at that very moment, the smoke vanished completely, and Tassicle re-appeared; clutching a cut in one of his legs.

"The mist was actually him." Link said aloud, in response to some of the silent questions running through Stalflare's head, "It didn't take me too long to figure out that it was another of his spells of transformation, but it won't do him any good anymore. The Master Sword can cut through anything that's evil, even if it's a vapor."

However, when Link looked back at his enemy again, he could see that there was a new development; no more pleasant than the last one. Tassicle had stopped grinning by that point, but he seemed just as sure of himself.

"You just wait!" the undead lord shouted furiously, and Link could see, in dismay, that his wound had already healed while he'd been shouting, "Do you know how I was able to frighten Nyarokai into working for me all this time? It's because I had the power to take away his immortality and conquer him. I have the power of godlike sorcery!"

"Laru Greide Hardalo!" Tassicle yelled in absolute rage, and a bolt of darkness erupted from his hand as he shouted that incantation, heading directly towards Link, as Tassicle was still getting back to his feet.

"Clanic Frandu!" Stalflare exclaimed, and at once, a force field of some sort appeared around himself and Link, dissipating only when the enemy's attack did.

Having seen one of his greatest spells thwarted, Tassicle rose into the air again, and charged at Stalflare in a flying motion, knocking him through one of the stone pillars that surrounded the throne room. Stalflare was covered in small bruises by that point, but otherwise, was largely uninjured by the attack.

"Fwooda Zeitai!" Tassicle yelled another incantation angrily, and in response, a rain of fire came down on Stalflare from seemingly every direction at once, charring his skin, and nearly setting fire to his wings. As soon as the flames vanished, Tassicle grabbed Stalflare, and threw him through the ceiling, up high into the air above the castle, where he began to attack him from every side, transforming when he needed to dodge an attack, or get the drop on his enemy, until, with one final, swift motion, he hurled him back downward again, and landed directly on the gerudo sorcerer's chest.

For a moment, Stalflare felt his insides being badly jumbled and rearranged by the intensity of the attack. Then, just as Tassicle was about to cast his darkness spell again, Link suddenly pounced on him in one maneuver, and the fight between the two of them began in earnest. Tassicle dodged Link's sword strikes carefully, and with blinding speed, but he wasn't able to counter-attack, and to the wounded gerudo wizard, Link even seemed to be making some headway. At last, however, Tassicle muttered, "Oh, never mind," taking flight again, and Stalflare swallowed once more when he saw the position that Tassicle was in. He was preparing for another dive-bomb attack.

However, having seen that attack once before, Link was ready for it. He spun around, towards the oncoming undead lord, and stuck out the Master Sword, so that Tassicle only had a moment in which to turn aside, and avoid being skewered on the blade of evil's bane. However, that moment wasn't enough to keep half of his right arm from being practically skinned. For a moment, the pain must have been terrible for him, and in that brief time, Link lashed out with one foot, sending Tassicle crashing to the palace floor again, with a sickening thud.

However, even though Tassicle's last attack had been turned against him, Link was sure that that wasn't the end of the fight. The injuries to the undead being's arm were already healing themselves, and he was slowly starting to get to his feet. It was very bad news, because from what Link had seen, the undead lord was even faster and stronger than Stalflare.

"That was a mistake." Tassicle remarked as he got to his feet, his whole body seeming to change with every movement he made, taking on indistinct shapes of claws and fangs, then losing them again, "You see, I so rarely get to fight with people of my own level, that I lost myself in the experience for a moment. That was a weakness, and you might have been able to defeat me with the power of your seven sages, by taking advantage of that weakness, but now, you won't get any more chances. Now, you're finished."

Suddenly, Tassicle's body began to reshape itself again; his arms into claws, his head into a hideous, bat-like face, and his feet into horrible talons... Before the very eyes of the two champions of Hyrule, he was transforming into a small, thin-winged demon, of a sort that Link had never seen in his life, and he had no idea what kind of strange powers that creature might have gained from his transformation, but Link could see that the sky above him had changed from merely being a mass of dark clouds, to a terrifying gale, complete with thunder and lightning. Worst of all, as Link looked at the clouds, they seemed more and more to be taking the shape of Tassicle's new, demon-like face.

Suddenly, Tassicle vanished, and at once, Link's instinct directed him to turn towards Stalflare. Beaten and injured, Stalflare was dangling in mid-air, his neck held in the grasp of the monster.

"At this moment," Tassicle explained in a horrible voice, underscored by a sort of shrill roar, which was different from anything that Link had ever heard in his life, "I could crush his neck with ease. My strength is probably twice; maybe even three times his, but he's also a powerful sorcerer, and I'd much rather have that power for myself."

Link gripped the Master Sword tighter, as Tassicle talked, trying to find a weakness to exploit; or strike him in some way, which might cause him to release Stalflare, but he couldn't figure out how.

"That's the source of most of my power, you know." Tassicle continued, in an almost cackling tone of voice, "I drink the blood of the living, and their powers belong to me from then on. Their souls are what I really feed off of, though. I've taken, in the past, the souls of ten thousand living creatures. You, with your seven sages, could never have defeated me."

However, that was the first thing that Tassicle had said, which really made sense to Link. Tassicle was right; the power of seven sages wasn't enough to defeat him. The Master Sword could help the true hero claim victory in times of trouble, but the real question was, what made a true hero? Was it the knowledge of right and wrong, the courage to do what was right, or was it that he was an inspiration to his people; a force that they could look up to, and wish to be like one day?

"Look up." The words had flashed across Link's mind purely by accident, even as he'd thought about them, but even as they did, Link started to understand their importance. Something was motivating him at that moment, although he wasn't sure what, and he found himself asking many silent questions about that. Was it his own need to win? Was it the power of the Master Sword; its experience with champions of goodness? Through the ages, the Master Sword had been used only by those with the purest of hearts, to strike down evil. Could it be that the sword itself somehow knew what to do, or was it Link who was starting to realize the truth?

Maybe, Link realized, they both knew what to do, and were confused about who'd come to that realization, because they were both acting as one. After puzzling over that for only a fraction of a second, however, Link lifted the Master Sword into the air, and looked up.

Link had been a mere child when he'd first picked up the Master Sword, and although he'd been christened the "Hero of Time" almost at once, he'd still been a child at heart. However, over the years, he'd become a man, and had, despite not having weilded the Master Sword for a long time, earned the respect and admiration of his people. Link was a hero, even without the power of the blade of evil's bane, and he realized all at once, that the more of a Hero he was, the more the Master Sword would do for him. Both he and the Master Sword were facing up, and the energies of Hyrule itself seemed to pulse through the air all around them by that point, as if in answer to Link's heroism, and his dire need.

It had never happened before in their lifetimes, but Link's forces felt a call which, despite not truly understanding it, they couldn't turn away from. They realized that the Hero needed their attention, and they all turned, and looked up, their minds focused on their admiration for the Hero of Time, and their desire to claim victory for everything that was right, and everything that they believed in.

As far away as the town of Ruto, and the Desert Collosus, people looked up at the sky, and thought about their kingdom, and it's protectors. Hyrule had a true hero to defend it from true villainy, and like all true heroes, he couldn't be alone.

As a hundred good hearts heard the call of the Hero of Time, Link felt those hundred hearts becoming one all around him. The glow around his body, once seven colors, began to divide and pulse, like cells in a dish, with all the colors of the rainbow, and more. Link's body shuddered, as the glow became so varied and intense, that it seemed to only be a white light after a time; a light that shone from every part of him; from every person in Hyrule; all their magic and will combining into one. It was a light that was made from the hopes and dreams of the entire land; a light that was everyone.

For a moment, Link was gasping for breath, as he struggled to cope with the powerful forces that had suddenly become centered on him, but when that moment was over, he turned to face Tassicle again, who was looking at him in shock and dismay. The undead one clearly hadn't expected that development, and for the first time, doubt and fear seemed to spread across his face.

In only a second, Link had leapt directly at Tassicle, and cut off the arm that he'd been using to hold Stalflare prisoner. Then, the fight began in earnest. The stone and marble around the two combatants crumbled from their proximity, and the intense impacts of their blows. It was a fight of the sort that gods themselves would fear, because each was powered by the hearts and lives of many people.

Link used Nayru's Love more than once during that battle, to protect himself from the stronger part of most of the blows, while all of Tassicle's powers were focused on attack. As they fought, the furious storm that had seemed to mirror Tassicle's own life began to spread beyond merely the castle, and out into the dark clouds that covered the rest of the kingdom that they each hoped to claim.

It didn't take long for Tassicle's arm to grow back, but before that happened, Link had struck out against him several times, putting his enemy on the defensive. Finally, however, Tassicle leapt high into the air again, and forced both hands outward in front of him. At once, a swarm of bats started spreading out from his hands, and charged at Link, screeching wildly as they went.

In response, Link swung the Master Sword back and forth, throwing blasts of his own power in all directions, and vaporizing many of the bats, but just as he seemed to be getting through the cloud of flying mammals, a blue glow collided with him from the front, knocking him back into a wall. As fast as he could, Link struggled to his feet, and searched around for Tassicle, but he'd apparently turned himself invisible again, and he was nowhere to be seen. However, just then, another bright, blue glow appeared in the air in front of him, and snaked out towards him like a whip.

That time, however, Link wasn't caught off-guard. Leaping over the lightening whip, Link dug another item out of his bag.

Link had acquired the Lens of Truth while exploring the well in Kakariko Village as a child. It was a magical lens with a handle; shaped like a magnifying glass, and it always showed the truth beneath appearances to anyone who used it. Swiftly, Link tucked the handle of the lens under his cap, and positioned the lens itself over one of his eyes, until he could clearly see his foe, with a blue glow around each fist, striking out with two electric whips, generated by his own magic power. Swiftly, Link fired his hookshot upward, and swung clear across the room, turning sideways in mid-swing, to dodge the electric whips, then struck out again with his sword, cutting a deep gash in Tassicle's stomach.

Tassicle cringed, and dashed backwards, while Link swung from one side of the room to the other and back again, closer and closer to his foe. Suddenly, Tassicle, realizing that Link could see him, stuck both hands out in an occult gesture, and a beast that seemed to be made of darkness leapt forth from his fingertips, and rushed at Link with its mouth wide open.

Link instantly donned his hover boots in mid-swing, with a speed that only he could manage, as he witnessed that attack, and slashed downward with his sword one more time.

For a few seconds, Link struggled with the beast. The creature of darkness was fighting to overpower him, but Link was wielding the Master Sword; the ultimate weapon against darkness. The beast didn't have a prayer for victory. At last, after several blows, the creature seemed to shatter like glass, under the power of the Master Sword, and Link braced himself for a plunge to the ground again.

However, he didn't fall. Link looked down, and he could see the golden glow of the hover boots underneath him, but that time, they were reinforced by the hundreds of Hylians who believed in him, and wished him well. Somehow, that strange force had increased all of his powers, and that included the power of the hover boots.

With that reassurance, Link began to dash through the air, ascending and descending through it, as though climbing stairs, and soon, he'd reached his enemy, and drawn back his sword for one final jab.

"No!" Tassicle exclaimed, openly terrified by that point, "You can't defeat me! I HAVE THE POWER!"

With those words, bolts of darkness erupted from the dark lord's hands, and made contact with the Master Sword's tip, and for a moment, the room was full of flying shards of darkness, but when the dust-like darkness shards had settled on the floor, there stood Link, still standing in mid-air, with the Master Sword embedded dead-center in Tassicle's chest.

Tassicle was wounded, but so was Link. Many of the flying shards of darkness were stuck in the hero's limbs and chest, and one was even sticking out of one of his ears, but like all pain, he bore it well. Link was still standing, and in mere moments, Tassicle was lying on the ground.

"No." Tassicle muttered bitterly to himself as he lay, helpless, on the floor, "I had the power. I was the greatest. I used my powers against you. I should have won."

"Power isn't everything." Link explained calmly to his fallen enemy, "I've defeated lots of enemies more powerful than me. The difference was in how you used your power. You used your powers against me, and the powers of many other people; more power than I had by close to ten times, but you didn't use that power for anyone but yourself, and as much as you may think you had the power of ten thousand hearts, no heart can ever truly be enslaved. You can trap them in your body with every person you kill, but you can never control their real power, as long as you're only doing it all for yourself."

"But you..." Tassicle began, looking very confused.

"I didn't fight this battle for me." Link said sternly to his foe, "I have nothing to prove. I'm not an emperor. I have no plans of conquest. This wasn't a battle for my ambitions. It was because other people needed me, cared about me, and looked up to me. I was their hero, and you were their taskmaster. People don't need a ruler to survive. They can live in peace without being oppressed, fooled, terrified, or depressed into it, but no one can ever live without a hero; someone to look up to, care about, and show them they can be better than they are, and still be mortal. Why do you think the stories about past heroes are so valuable when they're taught to our young? Heroes inspire; slave-masters don't."

"As long as you only work for yourself and your own ambitions," Link continued, still looking grave, "as long as you refuse to help anyone, and only cause misery; as long as you struggle to impose evil on people who'd rather live well; as long as you rule by terror and punishment, no one's ever going to follow your guidance, because you don't care about them, and they don't care about you."

Tassicle grimaced painfully, as slowly, inch by inch, he struggled to his feet, and wrenched himself loose from the blade of the Master Sword, which had already begun to erode a part of his chest. However, he didn't look like he was giving up.

"No!" Tassicle gasped out, looking injured, but still determined to win, "You... will die... I'll use all my power to kill you. Even if it takes me a hundred more years to return to power, you'll be finished!"

With those words, Tassicle began to grow, and grow, and grow, smashing through the roof of the castle, and looking down upon Link from a height that continued to increase.

At last, at a height of seventy-two feet, Tassicle seemed to have expended almost all of his power. He must have known that he'd have to finish the fight without any magic, but that was something that he was prepared for.

"Yes." Link said aloud, ignoring the pain in his lungs, as his body struggled to hold itself together, against the power of the evil one, "You could have killed Nyarokai with your power, and you can kill me too, but I could never live in a world run by you. You have no purpose. The longer you conquer, the stronger you get, and your strength separates you from everyone else. Your empire may be larger than any other, but your spirit is empty..."

Suddenly, however, in that moment, when it looked as if Link was about to die, the black barrier that had been holding out his army crumbled to pieces with a thunderous roar, but there was no army to be seen. In fact, the only thing on the other side of that barrier was one dark, shadowy figure, who seemed to have frightened Link's army off, even when Tassicle himself hadn't been able to. In some ways, Link was horrified as well, because he knew that the tall, dark figure on the other side of that door was the most feared man in the history of Hyrule.

"What would you do once you defeated him, vampire?" came the voice from the shadows, "Would you try to take his weapons? Use them yourself, I imagine? As much pleasure as it would give me to watch the Hero of Time killed by a more powerful creature, I wouldn't want you to obtain the Master Sword."

Then, the figure stepped forth from the shadows, showing that he had a Triforce on the back of his hand, and revealing the shape of his face; his long, aquiline nose, his thick, red hair, and the lustrous, black armor that he wore all over his body. It was Ganondorf; he'd returned from his prison in the Sacred Realm, and he looked just as threatening as ever.

The moment that he saw Ganondorf, Tassicle knew what had happened, and why the king of evil was there. Less than an hour ago, Link had needed the power of the Master Sword, but the only way to obtain it was to remove it from its pedestal, unlocking the door to the sacred realm, and allowing Ganondorf to break free. But, Tassicle couldn't understand why Link would have made such a grave choice, unless...

Just then, Tassicle remembered the two sheaths on Link's back, and he saw Link gripping one of them; a stone one, carefully. Could it be, Tassicle wondered, that Link had prepared for Ganondorf's return in some way? Could it be that he'd arranged for the construction of a means, by which Ganondorf could easily be returned to the Sacred Realm? And was that why Ganondorf didn't want Tassicle to claim the Master Sword?

In a very short time, those conjectures became a certainty, and Tassicle rushed at Link, but Ganondorf waved his hand once, and just like that, Tassicle found himself shrinking back to his normal size, unable to maintain his giant's form.

"The Hero of Time can still vanquish you on his own," Ganondorf said with a cruel smirk, "and as much as I despise him, I don't distrust him as much as I'd distrust myself, and you and I are very much alike."

As Ganondorf was saying that, Link got to his feet, despite his injuries, and thrust the Master Sword directly through Tassicle's heart, as hard as he could.

As Tassicle was impaled on the sacred blade, the shriek of evil magic being yanked across the barrier between the living and the dead forced Link to cover his ears, as the windows of Hyrule Castle shattered one more time.

* * *

"What did I do wrong?"

The vampire searched around as he fell into darkness, seeking the answer to the final question in his dying thoughts. However, suddenly, in the midst of that darkness, he saw a face; the face he'd seen many months before, although he'd also seen it again, very recently.

"You!" Tassicle gasped as he fell back away from the dark face, "You told me there was nothing that could stop me! You told me I'd be victorious!"

"I lied to you, emperor." came the reply from the darkness, "I have big plans for the Hero of Time, and you were his barbell. If not for you, he would have just grown weaker and weaker, until the day he died. He's been forced to confront his past, and soon, he'll need to confront his present, and mine. I thank you for your sacrifice, however. If not for you, I would never have had the opportunity to confront the Hero of Time myself, and it does seem poetic that we should meet in person. Don't you agree?"

Then, the darkness laughed, and laughed, and laughed, and as Tassicle descended still further into it, all that he could do was scream...

* * *

Tassicle was dead. All his dark ambitions and conquests had come to nothing in the end, just as they were destined to. However, the problems weren't over, because Link still had Ganondorf to deal with.

When Link had pulled the Master Sword from the pedestal of time, he hadn't done it blindly. The purpose of the Shiekah, the Zora, and the others had been to use their magic to make a new pedestal of time, in the form of a sheath; made of unbreakable stone. As long as the Master Sword was out of that sheath, Ganondorf was free, but if Link should put it back in, Ganondorf would be pulled back into the Sacred Realm, like a genie, called back into its bottle.

Link knew that he needed something from Ganondorf, but Ganondorf had done what he'd done up to that point, because he'd wanted his freedom. If Link tried to imprison him again, he wouldn't get any more out of the powerful wizard.

"Listen to me, evil one." Link said, once he'd gotten back to his feet, "I know all about your designs on Hyrule, and the world itself, but I want to make a deal with you."

Ganondorf must have known that Link held the power to imprison him in an instant, and so, he listened intently to the words of the Hero of Time.

"I won't place you back in the Sacred Realm, or have you imprisoned in a hylian dungeon." Link explained slowly, "I'll give you a chance for freedom. However, in exchange, you need to do as I say."

Ganondorf's voice was full of malice as he replied to that, however, "What do you demand in exchange for my freedom?"

"Listen very carefully, Ganondorf." Link said grimly. As he said that, however, he held up both of his hands, and Ganondorf could see that each hand contained a Triforce; glowing with divine power from inside the hero's grasp.

"These are the Triforces of Wisdom and Courage." Link explained patiently, "I found the Triforce of Wisdom in the Temple of Time after Zelda's ghost began to weaken. You have the Triforce of Power. Whoever gets all these Triforces will have the chance to rule the world, if they want to."

"I know how the Triforces work." Ganondorf barked, practically licking his lips, "What are you trying to tell me?"

"You're going to help me save Hyrule." Link said in a very stern voice, "Then I'll return the Triforces to the Sacred Realm, where they belong, and you're going to leave Hyrule, and never return."

Ganondorf's voice, however, was filled with hate as he asked, "Why would I do that?"

"Because" Link explained, "your life here would be miserable. Every principle you hate reigns supreme in Hyrule, and every person in Hyrule knows and distrusts you. Furthermore, if you tried to cause any more trouble, I'd be forced to imprison you again."

For several seconds, Ganondorf said nothing, but at last, his face tightened into a contortion, which made it look like he was going to explode from rage!

"Log-ognar-tesh!" He exclaimed, swearing in Gerudo, "Very well! I won't be imprisoned again, but when I leave Hyrule, I'll do it to seek a land that shares MY dream. Be warned, hero. If you ever encounter that land, you're not to set foot on its shores..."

Link nodded slowly in reply.

"Enough of this." Ganondorf exclaimed, "Let's get this over with."

Then, the two mighty warriors watched, as the three Triforces resonated, changing shape and form; combining into one again.

* * *

That very day, a gold-gloved hand held the Triforce aloft, and a voice mightier than any god spoke words that no god could dispute.

"The forces three, I now unite,

To find the answer to this plight.

I see the damage in this land,

and take this power now in hand.

So that this place I now can save,

I place the dead ones in their grave.

And with this power, life I give,

That death might die, and life might live!"

The Triforce was greater than any power that Link had ever encountered, or ever would encounter. It was absolute, and whoever held it was granted the power of a god; a supreme being. They were given limitless courage, limitless wisdom, and limitless power, and at the moment, that power belonged to Link, but like the first king of Hyrule who'd ever reigned, he refused to use it to change the world into something other than what it was. Rather, he chose merely to correct what had been done to his kingdom.

* * *

In Kokiri Forest, dying trees were restored to life, and leaves that had been brown, turned the brightest green. The Deku Tree, once in the power of the undead creatures, was restored to life, and the pile of green leaves that remained after Link's fight with it were miraculously re-formed into the figure of an ancient Kokiri, with the body of a 10-year old, green-haired girl.

"It's Link." Saria realized aloud, with a relieved, teary smile, as she looked around, "He's succeeded in bringing peace and life back to the forest. I knew he'd save us."

* * *

On Death Mountain, the crushed rocks that remained of the magma monsters began to re-form themselves into living, breathing gorons. They all remembered their deaths, and they all remembered their rebirth, but very few of them knew how it had happened; only that it was a miracle!

* * *

In Kakariko, bones sprang up, growing blood and flesh around themselves, then finally, the souls were restored to those bodies, and they were all alive again. Hylian and shiekah alike, all over the kingdom; they'd died, and lived to tell about it.

* * *

As many as had been slain in the attacks of Nyarokai against the gerudo, they all found themselves alive again, doing what they'd been doing before they were attacked. They remembered the war, and they remembered their deaths, but it had no impact on them anymore.

* * *

Ganondorf looked around. There was nothing nearby that he recognized; just sparkling water as far as the eye could see. He looked downward, to find that he was in a boat made of animal skins, with a sack full of provisions, and a pair of oars.

"Wonderful." Ganondorf said sarcastically, with a feeling which, in someone else, would have resembled pathos, "Now I just have to find out which direction isn't Hyrule."

* * *

In the port town of Ruto, a golden glow seemed to sweep over everything, repairing buildings, and healing the injured. From the ruins of the pirate ship, the pirates themselves sprang to life, but without their weapons, and in something of a daze. They were swiftly captured and imprisoned, including their leader Tetra, who spent the following day wondering if her homeland had also been cured of the curse.

* * *

Golden power swept over Hyrule Castle, and all those who'd helped Link, and hindered him in that place. The armies of the living were returned to their homes immediately, with every memory of, and gratitude for Link, and every injury healed. Those who'd died in fighting the undead were resurrected, and on the whole, all was well. When all was said and done, only Link, Stalflare, and Princess Zelda found themselves in the throne room of Hyrule Castle, because they still had a lot of things to discuss.

* * *

Note: This chapter covers parts 85-115 in the original format.


	8. P1 Ch8 The Party

Note: If you started reading in the original format, look to the bottom of the chapter for a guide on how to find where you left off.

* * *

Chapter 8: The Party

* * *

On the morning of the day after the final battle against the undead, Link sat on one of the cliffs that surrounded Hyrule, watching the sun rise on the horizon. Behind him stood Stalflare, who was still struggling to understand what had occurred on the previous day. The pitch black feathers of the greide zwooda's wings bristled in the mild wind that had been blowing all morning as he listened impatiently to Link's explanations of the risky things he'd done on the evening before.

"That's the only kind of wish that could have fixed everything." Link said, as he finished his explanation of the previous day's events, "After that, I went to the Sacred Realm, and placed the Triforces there. I was pretty surprised that Ganondorf let me have his Triforce at all, though."

"I still can't believe that both you and the hylian crown were willing to trust him that far." Stalflare admitted aloud. Like everyone else, he was concerned about Ganondorf still being on the loose somewhere, even if he didn't have his Triforce of Power.

"Well," Link admitted with a frown, "nobody really expects him to change, but everyone deserves the chance to."

However, at that point, Stalflare began to realize that there was one more thing he was still curious about, and he knew that he had to bring it up.

"Link..." Stalflare said, his irritated expression having finally disappeared, "Yesterday, when you came back from your errand, apparently, of returning the Triforce to the Sacred Realm, you sat and cried for hours. Why?"

Link, however, just sighed when he was asked that question. He hated to have to give Stalflare an explanation for that, especially since it proved that he was only a mortal after all.

"Over the last couple of weeks," Link began, his gaze seeming to tremble with emotion as he explained himself, "I saw almost everyone I loved die. I couldn't give vent to that sorrow while I was struggling to free Hyrule, but when the mission was over, I knew there was no point in holding it in anymore."

"I see." Stalflare said slowly, though he still looked confused by what he'd just been told, "That reminds me of something else, however. Apparently, all the people killed; both in the invasion, and in our retaking of Hyrule have been resurrected and accounted for, including the Kokiri, and the Deku Tree; who was very apologetic."

"In other words, the people of Hyrule will live." Link replied sadly, still looking at the ground, "They'll have their happy ending, although they must be eager to embrace their loved ones right now."

"Yes." Stalflare admitted, "That's exactly my point."

"So you're asking me" Link continued after just another moment, "why I haven't rushed to Zelda's side, to comfort her?"

Link had expected an almost immediate reply to that question from Stalflare, but instead, all he heard was several moments of silence, and at first, he wasn't sure why. Finally, however, Link turned to face his friend, but he drew back again almost at once. Stalflare's eyes seemed to almost be on fire, with a horrible anger and irritation, in spite of all they'd been through together.

"We fought the undead together." Stalflare finally announced in measured breaths, as though trying to calm himself down, "We fought enemies together. I saved your life twice, and you saved mine more than once. We faced death together!"

For a moment, Link saw nothing but disappointment in Stalflare's face, but he still wasn't sure why his friend was so upset. Finally, Link just asked, "What's your point?"

"My point is," Stalflare said, obviously even angrier than before, "that despite what you may think, Hero of Time, I'm not an utter imbecile. Don't lie to me anymore."

"I didn't lie to you!" Link yelled defensively, getting up from his seated position in indignation and alarm, "I've never lied to you!"

"Then why would you think that I wanted ask you why you haven't rushed into Zelda's arms?" Stalflare shouted back, "I wanted to ask you why you hadn't rushed into the arms of Saria!"

For a moment, Link was taken aback as he analyzed Stalflare's statement. Looking back on it, it had been a little mean; pretending to be someone he wasn't, and he could tell that as mean as it had been to Stalflare, it could only have been many times worse for Saria. Stalflare didn't stop frowning, but Link grinned weakly, trying to cheer himself up a little, as he sat down again.

"It was that obvious..." Link muttered, just loud enough for Stalflare to hear it, and in moments, his friend nodded in response.

"I... can't." Link replied sadly, with tears in his eyes by that point, "There are too many complications."

"Complications big enough to deprive you of your happy ending?" Stalflare asked him, though at the very least, his anger was gone.

"Heroes don't get happy endings, Stalflare." Link replied, still with plenty of sorrow in his voice, "At least, not yet."

For what felt like several minutes, neither one of them said another word, but at last, Stalflare spoke up again, looking frustrated, though he still obviously had something to say.

"Perhaps not, but kingdoms do, and they have parties to celebrate those happy endings. Naturally, you'd be the guest of honor, beside Princess Zelda herself, if you wish to come. I've also been invited, and I thought you might like to know."

Link still felt sad about being unable to express his true feelings, but he also felt as though a party might be just the thing to cheer him up.

"Alright." The Hero of Time finally said, after spending several more seconds in thought, "I'll be there."

"It's in three days, at Hyrule Castle." Stalflare explained, and then, without so much as a "good bye," he flew off in the direction of Gerudo Valley, and disappeared beyond the desert cliffs.

* * *

When Stalflare had called the victory celebration a "party," it had been something of an understatement. Virtually everyone in the kingdom was there who wanted to be, either performing or watching. It was held in the center of Hyrule Castle Town, and the fountain was the centerpiece of the circus-like celebration. Link and Zelda had seats on top of the Mask Shop, along with her father; the King, so they had one of the best possible views of all the festivities.

The first performance was made by Ruto, who proved her prowess in the ways of zora sorcery, by creating a dog made out of water from the fountain. It behaved itself, and people were invited to pet it. Zelda insisted on getting an opportunity to do so, and got her hand absolutely soaked, but she just thought that it was cute.

The second performance was by two goron acrobats, who made a show of rolling sharply around the water fountain, then leaping over it within inches of one another at regular intervals.

Link never stopped smiling through those first two acts. It was great fun to watch the people doing their best outside of battle, and it was the first time in over a week that he'd been able to genuinely feel happy about something.

A pair of shiekah in full uniform performed a series of spells after those first few acts were done; spells that many hylians had no idea had even existed. One of them turned a cobblestone into a rainbow-colored palm tree, made of marble for a while, then turned it back, and that was probably one of the least impressive feats they performed. Mostly, their spells of choice centered around the transformation of objects (and sometimes of volunteers) in one way or another, and then back again.

Many of those transformations were so strange, and (to some,) so hideous and/or tasteless, that several of the women, Zelda included, turned away at the sight of them, and many men flinched, but it wasn't any worse than the walking dead, and it was nice to know that the shiekah were on their side.

When the Shiekah had finished their act, Mido and two other kokiri performed an elaborate juggling routine, where two of them would stand on the ground, and toss three balls back and forth to one another with their left hands. With their right hands, they'd grab Mido by the knee, and toss him over to the other, who would toss him back. Every time he was midway between the two, Mido had to grab two balls from mid-air, and throw them up just high enough, that he could do the same the next time he was thrown. They were able to manage variations of that routine for close to five minutes, after which they all landed back on the ground, bowed politely, and left. The entire time, the applause never stopped.

Midway through the juggling routine, however, Stalflare had alighted on top of the Mask Shop, and tapped Link on one shoulder. Link was somewhat surprised that Stalflare had decided to show up, since the gerudo had opted not to participate in that celebration, but rather, to have their own, in their own way.

Stalflare was different from the other gerudo, of course, but Link could tell that his deepest loyalties were still to them. What surprised Link most was that Stalflare was wearing a sort of vest, which buttoned up in the back, around his wings; obviously made for that specific occasion, though not for that specific party.

"The gerudo have decided not to perform for the hylian masses, and so have I," Stalflare told Link; his first words to his friend all day, as he pulled him aside, and away from the performances of the other hyrulian peoples, "but I'm going to do something for you today, to make the day even better."

As Stalflare said that, he produced a small, bronze-colored goblet from the shadows underneath his wings. It was filled with an opaque, yellow liquid, which let off a great deal more steam than seemed natural, although Link had never seen anything quite like it before.

"Many gerudo still distrust the hylians, and many still distrust you," Stalflare explained, still holding the goblet in one hand as he spoke, "but they all recognize that you've saved them from destruction, and they're all, for the moment, grateful. Still, you must know by now that gerudo are governed largely by image and honor, so they couldn't give this to you in a ceremony, but they wanted you to have it nonetheless, as long as the public doesn't realize where you got it from."

"What is it?" Link asked curiously, as he took the goblet from Stalflare, and sniffed the steam that was rising from the strange concoction.

"It's known as gar-tena-eidi in our language." Stalflare replied, still looking very serious as he explained the true nature of the potion, "It's a contraction, meaning 'test of a true warrior.' Don't be fooled, though. It won't put you through any kind of terrifying combat training. In fact, virtually everyone describes it as pleasure beyond words, and as such, it's reserved only for the most honorable of our warriors, and only for special occasions. It floods the senses with the scent of desert flowers, and drives away thirst for the rest of the day, and for all that time, your life will be all delight, like nothing you've ever experienced."

"So how does it test whether you're a true warrior?"

"That's a myth. Most of us believe that it doesn't."

However, Link wasn't ready to give up yet, and Stalflare's eagerness to avoid that question was really only making him more and more curious; especially if Link was going to drink that potion himself.

"I'd be interested in knowing that myth." Link said, a little worried.

Stalflare sighed a moment later. It was clear that he'd expected Link to take his word for it, but after a few moments, he decided to describe the myth anyway.

"In ancient times, when Greide Zwooda were more common; when each generation bore close to seven, it was said that this drink granted a special experience to the strongest and bravest of those warriors. The class of warrior needed for this experience was considered to be supernatural; a hero beyond price who championed honor. When that hero drank of the gar-tena-eidi, it was believed that if he should fall asleep within twenty-four hours, his dreams would be of future times."

"The power of precognition." Link realized in amazement, looking into the steaming cup again, but Stalflare was already shaking his head.

"No." Stalflare replied, "Not precognition, exactly, just a random vision of a future time. The warrior couldn't choose which part of the future they wanted to see."

"But it's just a myth," the greide zwooda continued firmly after only a moment, "No one like that exists, though I'd imagine that you're closer to that supernatural standard than most."

As he said that, Stalflare put the goblet into Link's hands, and without another word, he took flight, soaring back to his desert home.

For a moment, Link considered the gift and the myth silently; the things that Stalflare had told him were certain, and the things that he'd said were false. Then, with solemn reverence, Link sipped the drink briefly, half expecting it to be hot and unpleasant.

However, just like Stalflare had said, the slightest sip of the draught made Link feel like he'd inhaled a flower shop, only without the pollen, and a feeling of very intense happiness coursing through his entire body. He quickly finished the drink, and hid the empty goblet in his bag, starting to see the celebration around him in an entirely new way, even as he did so.

Zelda seemed to have noticed that Link was much happier than ever, just as the juggling act ended, and at once, she read his thoughts, to determine the source of the strange, unnatural happiness, but she didn't say anything about it. She was pleased that Link was enjoying himself so much, and she knew that he deserved to have some fun after all he'd just been through.

When everyone had had a chance to put on an impressive performance of their own, there was dancing. The gorons were the wildest dancers, except, of course, for Link, who danced from rooftop to rooftop, so swiftly, and with such great leaps, that he could almost have been mistaken for a stalfo, if not for the presence of his flesh.

When that was done, everyone sat down, and a group of five violinists began to play a variety of tunes, while the hylian mage guild formed beautiful pictures in the sky, of what they thought of as they heard the music. When that was over, of course, there were still many people who'd go home, and write stories and songs based on that adventure, but none of those were read or featured at that celebration.

Instead, over fifty hylians took up instruments, while close to twenty-five others began to sing. The king himself descended from the roof of the Mask Shop, to direct the final treat of the evening; one of Hyrule's most popular musical numbers. Dozens were practicing with wands, trying to get the wand to perform a "latee" spell, which is to say, a spell of song. A few succeeded, and were paid handsomely for it later, because that was a song that it was very rare to hear, just because of the number of people required to play it fully.

After everyone had had a few moments to get ready, the king tapped his baton; the Wind Waker, on the pedestal in front of him, and the song began.

* * *

Every second of every minute of every single day,  
A thousand souls all unite to save the world today!  
And we make it, we make it!  
We bring to nature something grand!  
We save it, we save it!  
So for a purpose we can stand!  
We have it, we have it!  
Bringing things to life  
that drive away all strife!  
When the world is full of light,  
it's because we few chose right!

When there's trouble in the air, and evil has its way,  
that's when we must rise up, to save the world today!

Then, through courage and resolve, mercy, justice, grace,  
kindness and gentleness all, we'll make the world a better place!

And so together, we all will sing, and work to change our fates!  
So that our land should be as glad, as all of heaven's gates!

* * *

Between different verses, they would sing the chorus, and it was done in such a beautiful way that it brought tears to the eyes of many who watched. That was the sort of song that hylians remembered for their entire lives, and it symbolized those lives. They worked hard, they pushed through difficult times, but they got something back in return. Their lives, and indeed, their very species, stood for something important. Goodness, kindness, purity, and hope. Hyrule was more than just a place to live; it was a hope for the future. Link yawned as the beautiful song ended. He hadn't slept soundly since before the "undead incident," and he was getting extremely tired. Leaning back in his seat, Link found himself starting to doze off...

* * *

Link looked around as he walked down the corridor. It was a corridor made from dark stones, which seemed to have sharp edges protruding outward, and candle-holders resembling demons every few feet along the walls. At the end of the corridor was a dim light, like the light that comes through dark clouds in the daytime, and for a moment, he listened to the footfalls of his team behind him. He could hear the footsteps of a greide zwooda, two hylian women, one female zora, and a large, male goron as they followed him down the corridor. They were his friends, and since they were all in the same predicament, he knew that he could count on them in a pinch.

As Link stepped out of the corridor, however, he recoiled in horror from the sight in front of him. Walls of electricity surrounded them, beyond which he could see what looked like hylians watching, but their eyes were cruel; contorted. Above them the dark clouds allowed only a little light to be shed on the scene before them. In the center of that enormous, open hall were two large machines, which resembled vast, clawed hands, with lightening gems attached to their palms. Link could tell that they were a device that was used for transportation, but he had no idea where they led to.

However, the most hideous sight he saw there was the figure standing between the two machines, which was all the more terrible since, in some ways, she resembled Princess Zelda. She was shaped the same as he'd always seen her, but dressed in an ugly, black, short-sleeved shirt, and shorts that were much more revealing than tastefulness allowed for. Her eyes gleamed, not with kindness, sincerity, gentleness, and reason, but with malice, hatred, envy, and madness.

"Hero of Time." Zelda said in a half-amused tone of voice, "You came here to play our little game, didn't you; the game you've been preparing for all your life? Don't you just love what you're about to do?"

Link grimaced at her choice of words, because there was no love in that hall. Except for himself and his friends, in fact, there was no good at all; only terrible evil, and although he could feel a force of greater evil nearby, the most wicked creature in his range of vision was Princess Zelda.

"Let combat begin!" the evil Zelda standing in front of them all said, motioning for a tall man to step forth from the shadows on the other side of the area, "Remember, you fight for the fate of your entire worlds!"

* * *

Link screamed as he awoke from his terrible nightmare, causing Princess Zelda, who'd been standing up to return to the castle, to collapse back into her seat in surprise.

"Link!" Zelda exclaimed in worry, "Link, are you alright?"

Link, however, clutched his chest, gasping for breath, and looked the princess directly in the eyes, to be sure she was really the same Zelda he knew, but as he looked into her eyes, he saw the same loving gentleness that he'd expected to see. However, as much of a relief as that gentleness was, it didn't, unfortunately, calm Link down very much.

"No, I'm not." Link gasped out, still trying to get his fluctuating emotions back under control, "Din help us, none of us are!"

"Link!" Zelda exclaimed, grabbing him by the arm, "Relax! It was only a dream. We've defeated the undead. The battle is over now."

"No!" Link yelled in a kind of exasperation that was close to panic, "It's not! Hyrule's troubles aren't over! They're only just beginning!"

* * *

The End.

* * *

Note: This chapter covers parts 116-122 in the original format.


	9. Pt2 Ch1 The Team

The Conflict of Champions

* * *

The sun gleamed like a beautiful gemstone as it turned the heavens pink with its rising light. The smell of freshly-picked apples drifted into the field from the east as the kokiri began their apple season, and the same wind that carried the scent of apples into Hyrule Field carried the fresh air of the field into the desert beyond, along with the scent of the grass that flew through the air, being kicked up by the hooves of one horse, as she dashed across the field with a single passenger...

* * *

Chapter 1: The Team

* * *

It had been nearly a month since the invasion of the undead had been routed, and for the most part, people continued to live as they had before it happened. The Hero of Time still hadn't gotten over his vision, though. He'd discussed it with Stalflare, who said that it was probably just a coincidence, and that he still didn't believe that the drink of the gerudo granted visions, but, probably wisely, Link had chosen not to explain his dream to Zelda. It would have just distressed her to be told that at some future time, she'd become cruel and wicked, and start dressing immodestly.

As Epona, under Link's guidance, vaulted the two fences on the path to Lake Hylia, the Hero of Time couldn't quite drive the feelings of worry from his mind, but that was the same as it had always been for the past several weeks. No matter how hard Link tried, he could never seem to stop worrying about the future, but then, that was probably the price one paid for knowing, or at the very least, thinking they knew a part of it.

Link dismounted as he approached the Lakeside Laboratory, and gave Epona a carrot to thank her for her help. Epona could tell that Link was in a hurry, so she finished only a quarter of the carrot, and that in less than three seconds, and placed the rest on the ground with her teeth, where she continued to munch on it, as if to assure Link that she could finish it herself. Taking the hint, Link opened the door to the Lakeside Laboratory just a few seconds later, and walked inside.

The Lakeside Laboratory was one of the few places outside of Hyrule Castle that was entirely devoted to serious research into advanced science. Few hylians believed that it had much of a future, but all of them agreed that it should be researched to its conclusion before making snap judgments about it. Since over two years before, when Link had locked Ganondorf away, the Lakeside Laboratory had nearly doubled in size, and a new room had been added in the last month alone. At one time, the place had belonged to an old, goat-like scientist, who was noted for his knowledge and experience with chemistry, but in the modern day, three people worked there.

The old scientist was still in residence there, as was a young man named Colodine, who was hailed as an accomplished historian, linguist and archeologist. The last person to reside there had moved in less than a year and a half ago, when she'd decided that her home in Kakariko Village no longer afforded her proper facilities for her experiments. Her name was Byrna, and although she had some skill with chemicals and artifacts, her primary branch of study was with mechanical devices. Over two years ago, she'd made a name for herself by developing a mechanical time-keeping device, which could fit in the palm of one's hand. She'd given it as a gift to Princess Zelda, and in exchange, received about two hundred extra rupees as a reward.

However, oddly enough, only fifteen of those rupees had been spent by Byrna on recreational activities. Most of the money had gone into funding more research on the mechanical reactions of various creatures and elements, and into materials for some device that she said she was building, but hadn't explained to anyone any further than that. What little was known about Byrna's latest experiment, was that she'd recently asked the gerudo for blueprints of Ganondorf's battle armor, which they, of course, had denied her. Since then, most of Byrna's research had been done on muscle and organ functions, and on water and water flows. As such, the Lakeside Laboratory was the perfect place for her research.

Link had met Byrna before, a long time ago, but back then, she hadn't realized what she really wanted to do with her life. At the time Link had met her, she was attempting to raise cuccos, despite being entirely unqualified for the task, and Link had assumed, at the time, that she just didn't have much common sense, and would eventually grow to understand her real destiny.

In retrospect, that assumption had probably been true. It was possible that Byrna really didn't have any common sense, but when she'd eventually realized that she had a problem, she'd appealed to the hylian royalty for help in determining the best kind of job for her. Most of the advisors to the crown had assumed that she was simply incompetent in all areas, but Zelda had seen something in her that promised greatness, regardless of her bad luck in the past. Less than a week after the people had begun to rebuild Hyrule from the damage inflicted on it by Ganon, Zelda had used her mental powers to awaken in Byrna a side of herself that she hadn't previously been aware of.

From that day on, Byrna had been far from incompetent, yet it sometimes seemed as if she lacked a sense of purpose; a desire to practically apply knowledge to some constructive end. In place of that, it was as though her natural understanding of all forms and principles of sciences were double that of the kingdom's other science experts. She had a full mind, but not in what, others often thought, were the right places.

On that day, however, Byrna's unusually-balanced talents were producing helpful results. As she noticed Link's arrival, she took off a pair of goggles that she'd been using to protect her eyes, and walked over to the doorway to greet him.

"Hi, Link." Byrna said with a friendly smile, though she never quite seemed to look him in the eyes when she spoke, "It's been a long time."

"Definitely." Link admitted, smiling back, "I heard you'd come up with something interesting that you wanted the crown to know about, though."

"You might say that." Byrna replied, motioning for Link to follow her into the next room, "Honestly, I've been in the middle of two things that I think could work to the advantage of our kingdom, but as of right now, only one of them is finished."

In a moment, Byrna had opened the door to the next room, and invited Link to step inside. There, on one side of the room, was what appeared to be a series of large, metal bands, and a metal disk connected to strong, cloth straps. In the center of the room was something that looked like two metal saucers; each about the size of a wagon wheel, and sitting on top of one another. On every side of each of those saucers were series of small dials, which went all the way around the machine.

Link was astonished by the sight of those contraptions, though he had no idea what they were for. He'd never seen anything like them in his life.

"Which one's finished?" Link asked in shock.

"The one in the center of the room." Byrna simply replied, leading him in that direction as quickly as she could, to look at her disc-shaped machine.

"Amazing." Link muttered to himself, as he walked around the strange, wheel-like device, looking over it from every side, "What does it do?"

"Well, it's supposed to take you places," Byrna explained, looking delighted by Link's interest in the machine, "like a horse, only much, much faster, and it should be able to reach places that no horse could ever go. It works based on the principle that all space is connected as a single, unified whole, no matter where it is."

"How do you use it?" Link asked, still looking dazzled and confused by the whole idea.

"Well, notice the eight dials?" Byrna asked, smiling as she explained it to him, "Three are for pinpointing a specific place, and the other five are for changing the state of your body, so that when you arrive there, you don't cause an explosion, or leave an implosion behind."

"What?" Link asked in total confusion, not understanding what Byrne had just said at all.

"Well, it's simple." Byrna replied again, pushing a switch on the top of the device as she said that, and causing the top saucer to float into the air above the other, as if under its own power, at a height of about ten feet. As that happened, the space between the two saucers seemed to blur, as though it were moving very fast, despite the fact that nothing inside the machine seemed to be moving at all.

"How long I press the button on top indicates how high I want the device to rise." Byrna began, looking delighted over having such an attentive audience, "You turn the dials on the lower saucer, then step in. This machine causes you to vanish from the platform, and re-appear wherever you want. That was the easy part, but you also have to make sure that there's nothing in the area where you want to go, so one dial is for making sure there's no solid object there. Two more are for transporting back anything that's there to replace you, such as air. This prevents your body from merging with air or water during the transportation, and prevents a void of nothingness from forming due to your sudden absence. The last dials are for changing the state of your body, so that you can remain in the area you were transmitted to."

"Basically," Byrna concluded, noticing the puzzled look that was still on Link's face, "It's very complicated."

"Okay." Link admitted, having finally given up on understanding what Byrna had just said, "So if you stand on this bottom saucer, you can be sent anywhere, and nothing would go wrong."

"That's right!" Byrna replied, her smile growing even broader.

"But how would you get back here?" Link asked, sure that he'd missed out on something important.

At that very moment, however, the smile vanished from Byrna's face too.

"Blast!" she exclaimed in frustration, "I'll have to make another!"

Link almost laughed when he saw Byrna's reaction to that simple, sensible question, but suddenly, he noticed that something was on the platform of the open device. After hesitating for only a moment, he carefully reached forward, and picked it up. It was a letter. Byrna had noticed it too, though she didn't seem to understand it any more than Link did.

"A letter?" Byrna asked, looking puzzled as she gazed at the piece of paper in amazement, "Who could send us a letter? Nobody even knows where we are."

However, Link shook his head in reply to that, and after a few moments, he corrected Byrna on that assumption.

"Actually, it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of people knew where we were." Link explained, "Oracles of knowledge aren't uncommon in Hyrule, and if this machine can connect us to other places too, then there might be even more people who know about us on the other side of it."

Byrna didn't seem to have thought about it that way, so she didn't try to argue with Link about it, which gave him the chance to look the letter over. It merely said "To the Champions of Hyrule" on the front of the envelope, not giving the sender's name. At once, however, Byrna shut down her machine, and waited until the saucers had re-connected, before moving over next to Link, to listen as he read the letter aloud.

* * *

Champions of Hyrule,

Rejoice! Your world has been chosen to participate in a grand conflict. It's possible that you may even earn the right to defend your lives, and the lives of all those in your reality. If you refuse to accept this grand offer, you will lose by default, not only the contest, but quite possibly your lives, as well as everything you've ever known. If, however, you accept this offer, your participation in the Conflict of Champions will be assured. Your host doesn't wish to reveal his identity for the moment, but he invites you to meet his emissary at the following coordinates. (At that point, the letter produced a series of numbers that were apparently settings on the machine's dials.) If you have, as is evident by your receiving this letter, a matter-transmitting device of your own, just entering these coordinates will take you to the location of this great and glorious contest. To represent your world, you're permitted to bring with you a total of six champions; no more, no less. Good luck be with you in your struggle.

The Conflict Master

* * *

Link folded up the letter carefully, and shoved it into his pocket after only a moment. That letter was obviously something new and fresh to worry about, but at least it had almost driven away his fears about Zelda's future. Whether that letter's offer and threat were genuine or not, Link knew that something had to be done about it.

* * *

Less than ten hours later, Link, Zelda and Stalflare met once again in the castle, though that time, they met in Zelda's own rooms. Her rooms in the castle closely resembled the rooms that Link had once discovered in her hiding place by Lake Hylia, except that Zelda's library in the castle was nearly four times as large, fully half of which seemed to consist of shiekah books of spells.

When he saw that, it forced Link to contemplate how almost half of Zelda's life had been spent following the shiekah lifestyle; living in shadow, and struggling for her very survival. For a moment, he considered that that kind of life might drive even a steel-like will, like Zelda's to the breaking point. Then again, it could have been the pain of being turned into a ghost, and forced to obey the wishes of a master, which was another harsh problem that Zelda had gone through only recently, or perhaps the event that was going to change Zelda's attitude hadn't even occurred yet, and wouldn't occur for a very long time. Link shook himself once, to try to rid himself of those kinds of worries, although as always, it only partially worked.

"'Conflict of Champions' feels like a strange kind of phrase." Stalflare observed once he'd heard the information that Link had discovered, "I don't trust this 'Conflict Master,' in any case. I suspect that he has some sort of ulterior motive for all of this, but there's no way to tell what it is. If he really wants us to fight, it can't just be because we're the best that our world has to offer."

"If we are." Link replied, pointing out the one problem with what Stalflare had just said, "Our planet is still mostly unexplored. Our exploration parties haven't even mapped a thousand miles in any given direction, and we don't even have rumors of anything that's more than a hundred thousand miles beyond that. No one even knows the real size of our world, or what else could live in it. Remember how strong Tassicle was, when he and the undead invaded Hyrule? I think that proved just how little we know about our world's other inhabitants, don't you?"

"As I see it," Zelda began, looking contemplative as she spoke, "There are two possibilities. Either this note is a ruse; meant to draw champions away from their homeworlds, leaving them vulnerable, or else, it's exactly what it says it is. Either way, it sounds like the danger could be very real."

"Agreed." Stalflare replied, looking grave, "I can't imagine anyone going to these lengths for a simple prank. So, how do we respond to this? I suppose we should tell our people about this, and maybe even make some preparations, in case this letter turns out to be telling the truth, but how can we be sure what course of action to take once our forces are ready?"

Link, however, just frowned. Any course involved risk, but it was curiosity that really motivated his next statement.

"Zelda, how many shiekah can be gathered to protect the kingdom if we were to leave?"

Zelda looked puzzled by that question for a moment, but eventually, she replied, "Impa would be able to answer that better than I, but I'd say close to a dozen; maybe two dozen, if we send word to their hidden homeland."

"Hyrule's safety is absolutely essential to us, and to our lives." Link continued after listening to Zelda's response, "No matter what else happens, it needs to be protected from harm. Now that the zora have started to calm down a bit, and the gorons are visiting us more often, I need someone here who can gather our forces to protect Hyrule in case of an invasion."

"Nabooru could do it." Stalflare suggested at once, without a second's hesitation, though his scowl didn't fade for even a moment.

"Either Impa or myself could do it too." Zelda offered.

"But to find out who is going to do it," Link realized aloud again, "we need to know who our champions will be. We're expected to have six champions, and I'd prefer to take only people with unique talents; Stalflare and myself, for instance, champions of Hyrule and Gerudo Valley. I'm not sure who else to take, though. If you don't mind, princess, I'd like to spent the next couple of hours looking for more potential fighters."

"Okay." Zelda replied quickly, thought she had a sort of sad expression on her face as she spoke, "I'll talk with Impa in the meantime, to see if we can establish communications with the shiekah again."

"And I'll talk with Nabooru." Stalflare added immediately, "I only hope that we're doing the right thing."

* * *

A few minutes after his meeting with Zelda and Stalflare was finished, Link arrived at the stone cavern, called Goron City. Once he got there, however, he started shouting immediately, trying to make himself heard over the typical ruckus of the place, and doing his best to get the attention of their champion, although Link already had some idea of who the goron champion would be.

The gorons were a happy people; not prideful or dishonest to any terrible degree, but physically mighty, since their skin had roughly the consistency of a brick wall. Still, Link didn't expect too much trouble in determining their greatest champion, and he didn't get too much trouble. Almost every goron he spoke to over the fifteen minutes he spent there agreed that their greatest and toughest was Darunia, who, though old, hadn't been weakened at all over time. What interested Link most was that apparently, a new megaton hammer had been constructed, specifically to be used by Darunia.

After a short time, Link was able to find his way into the cavern in which Darunia lived. It was the place where goron bosses preferred to live, because there was a secret door in it that led to the lava pools out back, which were a rather popular place for gorons to gather. As the Hero of Time entered, Darunia stood up, and held out one hand for Link to take, which Link did, shaking the larger being's hand warmly.

"Darunia; boss of all the gorons of Death Mountain." Link said, addressing him in the proper way which, as a child, he hadn't known about, "I'm here to tell you that there's another danger to the kingdom. The Princess Zelda, myself, and Stalflare; newborn greide zwooda of the current age, humbly request your assistance in handling this new threat."

Darunia, however, just grinned as he patted Link rather roughly on the back, and after a moment, he said, pretty loudly, "You know you can always count on me. That's what it means to be sworn brothers. We can always rely on one another."

In response, Link nodded with a smile of his own. He was well aware of the fact that gorons, though a bit more picky when in bad moods, were much like Hylians in their philosophies of the difference between right and wrong, and in that instance, Link knew that he could count on Darunia.

"If you need me to assemble my warriors, it can be done within an hour." Darunia continued, his smile fading into a frown as he realized that there would once again be battle soon, but fortunately, Link just shook his head.

"It might not even come to that." Link explained, looking up into the eyes of his sworn brother, "Your goron subjects would be powerful allies if our land were attacked, and they'll need to be on their guard in the future, but we don't need them mobilized just yet."

At that, Darunia's smile returned, but he still looked somewhat perplexed.

"So what kind of help do you need from me, exactly?"

When Darunia had asked that question, Link started to tell him all about the note they'd received, and how they'd received it. Darunia was rather simple-minded by hylian standards, but in that simplicity, one sometimes found great wisdom, which so-called "wiser" creatures overlooked.

"What do you think it means?" Link asked, once he'd finished describing the note and its message, but Darunia was silent for several seconds before he made his reply.

"Hmmm..." muttered Darunia, who seemed to be deep in thought for a while, but eventually, he finally grabbed a small pouch from nearby, which he hung on one of his shoulders a moment later.

"Coming to me for help was a good idea." Darunia said, looking stern as he spoke, "It's clear what that note means, though. Somebody of some sort wants us to fight for some reason, so they've given us the best possible reason for fighting; saving everyone we love."

Link nodded. It was true that that much was obvious, but he was glad to see that Darunia was willing to help him out.

"As things are right now, though," Darunia continued somberly, "it seems like we don't have much choice, except to play this person's game; at least until we can find some way to stop them from threatening our loved ones."

"Yes," Link admitted aloud, his heart still full of worry, "it does seem that way."

* * *

As Link walked up the stream to the Zora's Domain, he left Epona and Darunia behind. Epona couldn't have made the trip upstream anyway, much less entered the waterfall door to the domain of the zoras, and as for Darunia, he couldn't have made the trip either. Gorons weren't very good in water. Besides, Link had decided, someone had to stay behind and take care of Epona while he was gone.

After a trek of a couple minutes along the river, Link approached the Zoras' Waterfall, just like he always did, and played the song of the royal family, causing the waterfall passage to open up, but instead of an open passage inward, as Link had been expecting, a sturdy-looking zora soldier blocked his path. The zoras had been far less militant over the past several weeks, but they still weren't being especially friendly towards hylians; particularly since many of them had wanted to see the Triforce placed in some neutral area after Link had used it to save their lives.

"Hail, zora." Link said, saluting proudly, in the hylian way as he approached the waterfall cavern, "I'm here on behalf of Princess Zelda; royalty of Hyrule Castle, to speak with your strongest champion."

However, as soon as Link had said that, he could tell that the zora wasn't eager to comply with him. In fact, the warrior of the zoras looked even less friendly than Stalflare usually did.

"Why would our strongest champion pay attention to the summons of the hylians?" the zora warrior asked suspiciously.

"Because there are some dangers that are more important than petty differences of opinion." Link replied a bit too quickly, "When the undead invaded our land, we worked together to destroy them. Now, we might be facing another threat, just as grave as that. Can you really afford to ignore that?"

At that point, Link could have given the zora guard a full explanation of the letter he'd received, but in the end, he decided not to, because he was afraid that he'd just be wasting his time. The zora, however, saw the look in Link's eyes, and seemed to recognize the seriousness of the Hero of Time's mission, because he eventually nodded.

"Agreed." The zora said with the same snooty attitude as before, "You can enter our domain, but only under one condition. I'll need to be your escort while you're here."

In response, Link gave the zora soldier a small bow, however, saying, "I'll be honored to have you by my side during this mission," although the zora himself obviously wasn't trying to honor the Hero of Time, as Link leapt past him, and into the cavern where the other zoras lived.

* * *

Once inside the stone domain of the water-dwelling people, Link found that the beauty of the Zora's Cavern was more astounding than ever. He'd seen the place a hundred times before, but he never quite got tired of the way that light reflected off the water onto the surrounding stone walls, many of which had recently been decked with crystal formations, that reflected light even more beautifully. Through the whole time that Link was led through the stone chamber, and into the throne room of the zora leaders, his eyes never seemed to have run out of things to watch.

At last, when Link finally got to the zora's throne room, he was met by a sight that he hadn't been expecting. Before him was a zora, who was close to fifteen feet tall, with a trident as massive as a pike. Though the figure in front of him was certainly very impressive-looking, Link found himself wondering if that tall, imposing zora was really his people's greatest warrior.

"Greetings, zora chief." Link said, saluting again in yet another respectful gesture, "Recently, I've heard that there might be another attack against Hyrule in the near future, so I came here to speak with the greatest warrior of all the zoras, to make defense plans against the new threat."

The huge zora still looked stern, but he was also starting to look very proud, and in just a moment, he replied to Link directly.

"Yes." The massive Zora said firmly, "I'm the greatest champion of the zoras. What kind of attack do our people need to defend ourselves from?"

However, just as Link was about to explain the note he'd received, he heard the sharp, high-pitched voice of a zora child, coming from nearby, and sounding very urgent.

"Link? Are you really Link of Hyrule?"

At the sound of the bold question, Link looked down, and there at his feet was a small zora, no more than a foot long, with stubbly little legs and arms, and a long tail. He was swimming in the shallow water of the throne room, and up to that point, because of his small size, it really seemed as if none of the other zoras there had noticed him.

"Hello, there." Link replied, looking down at the brave, young zora with a friendly smile, "Yes, I'm Link. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Do you want the most powerful zora?" the young amphibian asked curiously, "Or our greatest champion?"

For a moment, even Link found himself puzzled by that question, because it was hard to be sure what the young zora was even asking him. However, after a few moments, Link decided to just explain what kind of person he was looking for.

"I want to talk to the zora who's the most powerful, without the help of their allies." Link explained patiently to the young zora, but at that moment, the small boy replied with a courage that even Link found himself envying somewhat.

"In that case, our chief isn't the one you want."

The moment that he heard that, Link looked up at the Zora chief in alarm, realizing that something was being kept from him. The zora chief was obviously infuriated by the young boy's outburst, but the deed had been done, nonetheless, and with Link standing right there, the zora lord didn't dare try to punish the young boy.

"If you go to the bottom of the cavern," the young Zora continued, happy to be of help, and seemingly heedless of just how much he'd upset the chief, "you can find Miss Ruto. She's the toughest zora there is, and she's also real nice. She always has extra guppies to eat, and some new games to play."

Link just smiled as he listened to the young boy speak. He'd expected that Ruto might have returned to the Zora's Domain after the defeat of the undead, but even considering how recently she'd been in exile, he hadn't expected her to be hiding out underwater. However, after thanking the young zora, and seeing him safely out of the throne room a moment later, Link found himself facing the zora chief one last time; not feeling the least bit scared of, or pleased with the much larger warrior. After taking just a few seconds to put on his calmest expression, Link spoke to the large, powerful-looking zora firmly.

"I think you owe me an explanation." Link said dispassionately to the large zora chief, causing the huge warrior to frown deeply, but nonetheless, he must have known that at the moment, the best idea would be to come clean.

"Alright. The explanation is this; when the domain was frozen, all of the zoras were pretty well united in considering hylians the enemy." the huge zora replied, still looking upset as he spoke, "Only Ruto and her father disagreed. He died shortly afterwards, from a medical weakness that only happens to the unfit, but she survived. Because of that, the only way to really annul the authority of the royal family, and pursue our cause of protecting our people from the hylians was to send her into exile and replace the zora royal family with a new succession of chiefs and warriors."

"I know all that." Link said blankly, though he didn't bother to say any more.

"Since you saved our people again, however," The zora lord continued bitterly, "public opinion has been changing. Many of us still consider you the enemy, but just as many want to work towards a more peaceful solution with your people. At this point, the subversive words of Ruto couldn't possibly do any more harm. She's still something of an outcast from zora society, but she's also permitted to stay here, among her own kind, as long as she makes no attempt to reclaim her royal station."

"So how could she be the mightiest zora?" Link asked, just a moment later, feeling confused again, "If she was really the mightiest, she could become your new chief, right?"

"Well, physically, she's not." the zora lord replied, still sounding bitter, "If it were up to a fistfight between the two of us, I'd win by a reasonable margin, but..."

However, at that point, the zora lord paused again, and lowered his voice a bit, before continuing to explain the situation, "Since her return from Lake Hylia, Ruto seems to have uncovered some type of strange power, that none of us can explain, and it makes her a bit different from the rest of us. I don't know how to describe it, exactly. It's as if her scales are also some kind of armor, weapons, barbs, and more. You really need to see it for yourself, but if she's willing to show you what she's capable of, I think that you might be surprised."

"Well, I'm glad you're willing to admit it, anyway." Link replied, forcing down a smile, as he thought about Ruto, having become a sorceress of sorts, "I may come back here to discuss defense plans with you once I'm done talking to Ruto, but for now, I'd like to request that you please give me directions to wherever she's hiding."

* * *

Seconds later, Link had donned his iron boots and zora tunic, and was walking along the underwater passage towards Ruto's hidden cavern. As he got closer, he could hear a woman; speaking in a very gentle tone of voice, as if trying to lull a young baby to sleep.

"...And the Princess waited for years and years, hoping and praying to the goddesses, that one day, her true love would return, to save her people, and carry her off to some far-away palace, where they'd be happy for the rest of their lives."

As soon as he heard the story that Ruto was reciting, Link gulped nervously. His last meeting with her had been somewhat heated, and he wasn't sure what kind of greeting he was going to get. Under the circumstances, he could only hope that she'd try to remain professional. Slowly, his feet clanged along the stone floor as he entered the underwater room that stretched out in front of him.

As he pressed on, Link was surprised to find that Ruto's room was really very similar to a hylian one, except that it was constructed from undersea materials. On top of that, half of the room seemed to be separated from the other half by a crystal barrier, and apparently contained breathable air. It was a half-air, and half-water environment. In fact, it was, Link realized in fascination, the true Zora element.

The area with the air contained a series of books, made from ground and woven weeds, and housed in bookshelves made out of carved shells. The water area was full of furniture, which was made from fish bones, sponges and shells. At first, Link wondered how an environment of fresh air could be maintained in a place like that, but then he saw that not only were there two watertight doors between the two areas, but there was also a series of holes along the walls of each chamber, apparently designed as a primitive ventilation system.

In the middle of the room, there was a circle of Zora children, still resembling tadpoles in their infant stage, and Link could see Ruto sitting on a sturdy clamshell chair, and telling them a story she'd apparently memorized. However, the moment that she noticed Link, her story came to an abrupt end.

"I'm sorry." Ruto said to the children, getting to her feet in a hurry, "I'll have to finish the story later. Miss Ruto has a meeting."

The children all looked disappointed, but they all obediently swam back home to their real mothers, as Ruto motioned to a chair nearby, which was made from a very large shellfish exoskeleton, so after taking a moment to greet her, Link took the hard seat that she'd offered him, and began his explanation.

"I got a note just recently from some unknown location that seems to spell out trouble for Hyrule. I've been asked to gather our greatest champions to participate in some kind of conflict."

"Good luck." Ruto replied, her expression completely unreadable.

"Come on, Ruto." Link implored in exasperation, "I've been told you're the mightiest Zora there is. Are you going to let our past get in the way of saving the lives of everyone you know? You and I just aren't that important."

"You thought you were pretty important in the old days." Ruto scoffed derisively, "Besides, I can be with my people now, so I don't need your help anymore, and let's be honest; you don't really need mine. Why should I bother to help you if you can just fly in and save the day like you always do?"

At first, Link didn't know what she was talking about, but when he finally realized, he seemed somewhat shy about explaining things to her.

"I can't fly anymore." Link said sheepishly, looking down at the stone floor of Ruto's chamber, "I haven't been able to fly since I relinquished the Triforce. The power of the hearts of Hyrule defeated Tassicle and saved our kingdom, and it left me almost as soon as the deed was done."

"Besides," he continued a moment later, looking back up into Ruto's central eyes boldly, "the note says we have to have six champions; not one. We do need your help."

Ruto seemed to consider that for a moment, but finally, still looking frustrated, she said, "Link, I'm sure I have powers that could help, but it would just be too painful for me. I don't know if I can work beside you for any length of time and not wish things could have gone differently between us."

However, the moment that Ruto had sprung that excuse on him, Link's face grew stern, and he said aloud, "Do you want to know why things didn't work out between us?"

Ruto just stared blankly at Link when she heard him ask that. She certainly hadn't expected him to directly address the issue of their relationship, since he never had in the past, but it seemed that Link was surprising her yet again.

"You were lazy, arrogant, self-righteous, childish, and at the same time, you took yourself much too seriously." Link spat out, clearly angry with Ruto by that point, "You were so concerned with how you appeared to other people, that there was no room for anything else. Every moment you spent trying to win me over was painful for me, and I've gone through worse pains since then, but I always kept going. I never made excuses for myself as to why I couldn't continue. I did what needed to be done."

At that point, Link stood up to leave, and just as he was about to exit through the door, he said "That's the biggest reason we don't belong together, Ruto. I buckle down and get the job done, but no matter who you were, or what kind of power you had, you were always a whiner."

Then, Link walked out of the cavern without looking back or saying another word, and Ruto was just left speechless.

For close to five seconds, Ruto sat still, her eyes and mouth wide open. Since she'd just been a tadpole, she'd never once been scolded for so many of her character flaws at once. Indeed, since she'd been the royal zora princess, no one would have dared, and it was the most insulting thing that anyone had ever said to her directly. In the past, she might have lashed out against such comments, or scoffed them off, as just a bitter reaction from someone she'd angered, but the problem was, that when comments like that came from Link... they just sort of... mattered.

Grabbing a small bag from a coral table nearby, Ruto raced at top speed out of the Zora's Domain, and towards Hyrule Field, following Link's trail as fast as her legs would carry her...

* * *

Stalflare stepped into the command room of the Gerudo Thieves Guild, and looked around for Nabooru just as lunchtime finished, and the afternoon began. After a short search, Stalfalre found her searching through some papers for a record of apple purchases from the forest. She was standing up, and pacing back and forth across the room.

"Nabooru." Stalflare said aloud, making her jump in alarm, since she hadn't been expecting a visitor at that point. Swiftly, she put the papers under a nearby jar, where the hot desert breeze from the high windows in that room wouldn't disturb them, and turned to face Stalflare.

"I might be called away to defend our land from another threat very shortly." Stalflare said to her firmly, still frowning as he spoke, "I'm certain that you can take care of things here, unless you'd rather go in my place."

Nabooru was silent as Stalflare said that. He hadn't intended for the comment to be insulting, but he'd secretly doubted her right to lead the gerudo people since long before he'd become a greide zwooda. Maybe, in the end, it had simply come out wrong.

"You should probably go." Nabooru said, though she still looked sad as she spoke, then for a moment, she paused, and when she continued, the gerudo queen sounded almost sick.

"If Ganondorf were here... I mean..."

Nabooru didn't continue that sentence, but Stalflare knew what she meant. As a child, Ganondorf had been a person so deeply entrenched in morality, that he could almost have been mistaken for a hylian. Before his transformation into the king of evil, he'd been a genius, a prodigy, and a good-natured soul; all the things that a good king had to be, and he'd been the greatest of them all as both a warrior and a sorcerer.

"Tell me the truth, Nabooru." Stalflare said at last, his expression hardening as he spoke, "You were made our queen because of your genius in matters of strategy, and because of your experiences with Ganondorf, but not for any other reason. Am I right about that?"

Nabooru, however, collapsed into a nearby chair when she heard that question, and looked about ready to cry for several seconds.

"As a young person," Nabooru said bitterly, "I was the second-kindest of the gerudo children, but I couldn't have won a battle with a real warrior, even to save myself. As time went on, and I became a sage, I was never really interested in battle or magic. I learned what I had to, in order to lead our people, but..."

The gerudo queen paused for a few moments more, before continuing, looking less sure of herself than ever, "Ganondorf was a bar I could never measure up to in any respect. Before he'd reached the age of ten, he was already mightier than I'll ever be."

"And I" Stalflare realized aloud, "am now just as powerful as he was."

"Oh, I know a few magic spells, and a bit about the nature of magic," Nabooru continued, looking angrily at the floor by that point, "but right now, I'm mostly a figurehead. You're not even a gerudo anymore, but so help me Gerudi, you're the only warrior fit to represent our people..."

That time, Nabooru really did begin to cry, and after a moment, she gasped out in alarm, "We were always so proud of our warrior skills; so proud of our strong spirits! Why did this have to happen to us? Why can't the gerudo be strong enough to defend themselves when there's real danger? Why do our spirits have to be crushed like this?"

Nabooru put her face in her hands at that point, and droplets splashed in all directions, forming into small spots on the floor and furniture, which evaporated almost instantly in the midday heat.

Stalflare didn't say another word a moment later, when he left the record chambers. His entire life, and indeed, the lives of all gerudo, were centered mainly around self-actualization; around personal accomplishments and pride, yet it seemed as if their fate was to be shown their limits, in spite of all the effort they'd put forth. Why, Stalflare wondered silently, as he spread his wings, and took flight towards Hyrule, did the proud always have to fall?

* * *

It only took Princess Zelda a few moments after her meeting with Link to change into her shiekah uniform. As soon as she was dressed that way, she dug a pouch out of her desk, and reached inside of it, retrieving a pinch of magical powder from within. In moments, she'd tossed the powder to the ground; her hand shaped into a magical gesture as she did so. With that gesture, Zelda knew that the powder would transport her to a new location. Its range was still limited, of course, but Zelda knew where she wanted it to take her, and she'd been there many times in the past.

The trip took no more than a moment, but it felt like her every cell was trying to rush past the others during that brief interval. When Zelda finally re-appeared in a flash of light, she was in front of Impa's house, in Kakariko Village.

After Ganondorf had been dethroned, and Hyrule had been restored to its former glory, Impa had chosen not to remain in Hyrule Castle. When Zelda had asked her why, however, she'd just said that the princess was old enough that she didn't need a nurse or a bodyguard anymore. However, as sad as Zelda had been to see her former nurse leave the castle, the two of them were still dear friends, and at times, Zelda even treated Impa as something of a mother figure. On that day, Zelda's reason for traveling to Kakariko was simply to meet with Impa once more, and discuss their new problem with her, but really, there were other things that she wanted to talk to her friend about.

Zelda delivered a swift, efficient knock on the door to Impa's house, and a moment later, she was told "enter" from within.

When Zelda opened the plain, wooden door and stepped inside, a moment later, she could see that the inside of Impa's house was full of magical experiments and books, but Zelda had seen most of these spells before, and indeed, had mastered almost as many. Impa looked up briefly from an alchemy experiment that she'd been working on, as she noticed that the person who'd entered her house was the princess of Hyrule.

"Ah, come in." Impa said happily, turning back towards her experiment after only a moment, "You're just in time to help me with this. Hand me those..."

As Impa said that, she pointed to a jar labeled "sand of desert wind." At Zelda's mental command, the jar levitated on its own, however, and floated towards Impa, who grabbed it out of the air, and added some to the small dish that she had under a magnifying lens in front of her, but rather than producing some usable result, the dish simply disappeared completely, along with the table, the lens, and the contents of the experiment.

"Was that a success or a failure?" Zelda asked, not entirely sure what Impa had been working on, but her old mentor hardly seemed sure herself.

"Well," Impa replied, sounding a little depressed, but really more confused, "it wasn't exactly a success, but I've learned enough from the experiment. In fact, I learned more than I expected to, but I know there must be another reason you came here."

"Yes." Zelda said, smiling again as she approached her old friend, "By now, you must have heard about the note that Link received. I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to join my friends and I as a shiekah champion if it comes to that."

Impa's eyes widened, as she instantly inferred the situation from Zelda's words and posture. After a few moments of looking Zelda over, however, she collapsed into the chair behind her, looking deeply disappointed.

"No." Impa said in dismay after several seconds, "I won't come with you. On top of that, I don't think that any shiekah would."

"What?" Zelda asked in shock, and more than a little worry, because she was afraid that she might have offended her old mentor in some way, and not realized it, "I don't understand. Why won't you join us?"

"Because the shiekah are already well-represented in your group." Impa explained, her expression gradually turning neutral, "They're represented by you."

"What?" Zelda was astonished at being told that, but immediately argued, "But I'm not fit to represent the shiekah! I'm a hylian!"

"The bodies and minds of hylians and shiekah are really very similar." Impa replied, waving Zelda's objection off, "The only real difference between us is in the knowledge and mindsets of our cultures."

"But I..." Zelda stammered, not sure what to say, "I'm still just a novice! Every time I see you, you tell me there's still more to learn!"

Impa sighed when Zelda brought that up, however, then looked up at the ceiling, to avoid staring Zelda in the eye when she made her next statement.

"Out of all the branches of shiekah knowledge and skill," Impa explained ruefully, "there are only two that you haven't fully mastered as far as I, or any shiekah can teach you. The first is magic, but very few can ever understand the fullness of what magic really is. I think you already know more about it than many of our wisest elders. The second is in seeing when you look. That's the only skill that you really lack, out of all the many skills that I've tried to teach you. Seeing when you look is the only skill that you've never understood, or else, you would have already figured out that your skills as a shiekah far surpass mine."

Zelda was flabbergasted by Impa's words. That had never occurred to her. In her studies of magic and the way it worked, she'd never once considered that she might have outdone her old mentor. She'd seen Impa, apparently falsely, as someone who knew everything there was to know about magic, and as such, had seen knowledge of magic as the barrier between them. Impa, however, watched her facial expressions as Zelda thought about those things, and seemed to almost have been reading her thoughts a moment later.

"I still have a lot that I could teach you," Impa explained slowly, "but not in the realms of magic. When you look, you don't observe. That's the only thing that I think I'm fit to teach you about anymore, and it's all that prevents you from being the perfect shiekah."

"But" Impa continued, "I've also had my eyes on Link, and in recent years, he's become very cunning. He doesn't like to use his full powers, but I've seen promising signs in his eyes, and I know that he has a real talent for observation, maybe even to a greater degree than myself. If you're going to be spending time with him, maybe he can be the one to teach you what you still need to learn."

"As a shiekah, I have everything but observation," Zelda recited to herself, still having difficulty accepting the truth, "and as a hylian royal, I have my ring."

As she muttered that, Zelda looked back down at the ring that she kept on the fourth finger of her right hand. It was a symbol of her royalty, but more than that, it was magic, and with it on, her psychic powers were magnified several-fold.

"You're the champion that the shiekah would send, if you asked them to choose someone." Impa repeated again, "Any other people we send with you would merely be redundant. We might even get in the way."

Zelda found that she needed to think about that for several seconds before she was ready to accept the truth, but at last, she stared up at Impa again in shock and fascination, and asked one final question of her old mentor.

"Why?" Zelda asked, breaking the silence that had materialized between them, "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"For a few reasons." Impa replied, though she still looked somewhat sad, even as she spoke, "For one thing, I'd been hoping that you'd develop into a more observant person, and wouldn't need to be told, but the other reason was that I wanted to spare you from pride. If you'd known that you were really the finest of all the shiekah, you would almost definitely have grown prideful, and stopped trying to improve, and I didn't want to see that happen to you. Princess... Do you think I did the right thing?"

However, Zelda didn't say another word. Instead, with a blank expression on her face, she flung more powder at the floor of Impa's house, and was gone in another puff of smoke.

* * *

"Daddy! Daddy, open the door!"

Zelda had been knocking for close to five minutes on the bedroom door of her father; the king. She could tell that he was still inside, and that he was alive and awake by sensing his aura, but she had no idea why he was avoiding her. He might have realized what was going on, but even so, that was no excuse for avoiding his daughter. It was best, Zelda eventually decided, to suppose that the king did indeed know about the letter, since Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule often had a way of knowing things like that, but Zelda couldn't understand why he was refusing to answer her. In fact, she wondered, was that his way of answering? Was his silence the answer that he was trying to give her? If so, she decided, it was a very rude way of answering, so a moment later, she straightened up again, and spoke in a loud, assertive voice.

"Daddy, if the answer is no, just say no."

Almost at once, the door to the king's room was flung open, and the king himself emerged with a sad look in his eyes. Quickly, Zelda rushed forward and hugged him, burying her face in his short, white beard; just glad to see him again at first, but after a few moments, she heard him say, in a determined voice, "No."

At once, Zelda drew back again, to face her father, and addressed him formally; "King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, your daughter is going off to represent Hyrule as one of its champions. Why are you refusing to join her?"

However, it seemed as if the king had an answer for that question. It was hard to see his frown under his thick bear, but Zelda could tell that he wasn't happy as he spoke.

"Because," the king said, "there's nothing I can do that the Hero of Time can't. I'm old and weak, and my powers aren't what they once were. If there's a battle to be fought, it needs to be fought by younger champions."

"Daddy," Zelda said, softening a bit, though she was still disappointed by her father's choice, "You're just depressed by the fact that the Master Sword can turn virtue to power, the same way your ring does."

"YES I AM!" the king bellowed at once, in a way that made the princess draw back from the door in alarm, "For hundreds of years, that sword has been keeping that accursed Triforce where it belongs, and no one worried about either one of them. My ring had the power to change good intentions and prayers into physical power, and there wasn't a single legend anywhere that spoke of such a power being possessed by anything else, much less by a blade as famous as the Master Sword!"

As the king said that, however, a tear came into his eye, and he spoke sadly once again, rather than in anger, as he had moments before, "I'd come to grips with the fact that I wouldn't have a son to pass this power on to, but I never expected someone else to claim that same power, which I'd considered my birthright, entirely without my knowledge or consent."

"Is Link really so bad, Daddy?" Zelda asked imploringly, however, hoping that her father would start to be reasonable again, but it looked as if her father was, in fact, well aware of the truth already.

"Link is the best thing that's happened to this kingdom since the first time the Triforce was imprisoned." the king admitted ruefully, "But it's not about what's right and wrong. I feel horrible, as though a part of myself has been stolen. I know that wasn't his intention, but I can't help but feel violated somehow."

"At any rate," the king continued, shaking off his sad expression in favor of sternness, "I'm obsolete, and nothing's going to change that. The people have their Hero now. Compared to that, I'm a moot point."

With that, the king closed the door to his bedroom again, and although it upset Zelda to have to part with him on those terms, in the end, she didn't have any other choice.

* * *

Less than an hour after the meeting between Stalflare, Link and Zelda, their other meetings had finished, and they arrived back at the Lakeside Laboratory. Link was the last of the three to return, accompanied by Darunia, Ruto and Epona.

"I see you found two more champions," Stalflare observed, without saying a word to either of Link's companions, "bringing our total to four."

"Five." Zelda interrupted, though she still looked depressed as she approached the group out of the shadows, and spoke to them, "I've been named the champion of the shiekah."

"What about the gerudo?" Link asked Stalflare, without really thinking about it at first, "As a proud warrior race, they must have a champion they could..."

However, Link hadn't even finished asking that question, when he noticed the look that Stalflare was shooting in his direction; a look that said "don't go there," so Link quickly dropped the subject, just to be respectful.

"My father says he can't come," Zelda continued again, as if trying her best to keep from looking sad, "and Impa thinks she'd just get in the way."

"Well, that doesn't matter. We need a sixth." Link replied with a shrug, "So unless you feel like dubbing Epona a hyrulian champion..."

"Excuse me."

The interruption had been quick and high-pitched; and it had come from behind them; a voice that most of them recognized. Soon, they'd all turned to find the voice's source, but they were all flabbergasted by what they saw. It was Byrna, all right, but she was dressed in a suit of armor, without a helmet, which made her look about eight feet tall. On her back was a bag that, Link could only conclude, contained some useful equipment of some sort.

"It seems to me," Byrna continued, "that you have representatives from the gerudo, shiekah, gorons, zoras, and kokiri. Why not a hylian?"

Link was surprised by that question. After all, he'd intended to be representing the hylians himself, but he had to admit that no true kokiri would have lasted long in a fight with any of the other people there. Still, as for Byrna claiming the right to be a champion, it did seem like a bit much. Link had never seen her fight before, but he suspected she'd be relatively defenseless in a real battle.

However, no sooner had the thought passed through Link's head, than the gauntlet covering Byrna's left arm changed its shape, so that the back of the gauntlet resembled the end of a bottle. After a moment, there was a series of loud hissing noises, and then, Byrna pointed off to the left. There, Link could see, there was a boulder full of holes, which went clear through it, and disappeared into the ground behind.

"No one on your team knows anything about science." Byrna explained confidently as her gauntlet returned to its previous shape, "You have warriors, mages, and people who strike from the shadows... Well, now you need me."

Byrna's suggestions were still making Link feel worried, but then, that had come to be his average state of being recently. Eventually, he decided that as bad as he felt about the idea, it was probably for the best.

"All right." Link said, though he didn't smile when he consented, "But I think there's something else to consider before we go anywhere. This letter might represent a genuine threat, but then, it might also be a ruse."

"I've already told you that I think it's real." Darunia said firmly.

"I think it's a ruse." Stalflare muttered.

"I think it's real." Zelda added.

Byrna frowned a moment later, though she eventually said, "It's probably real."

"I hope it's not real." Ruto suggested nervously.

"So, what do you say about it, Link?" Zelda asked in the end, looking into the hero's face, as she waited for him to respond, "Is it real, or a ruse?"

Link paused for a few seconds to think before he said anything, but in the end, he knew that there was only one answer that he could really give, and it didn't make him happy to be so unsure about it himself.

"I think it's a ruse, but there isn't enough evidence. For now, I'm going to treat it as if it's a real threat, and hope that we can handle the situation if it does turn out to be a ruse."

"So we're going?" Darunia asked, looking relieved after a moment, "The six of us, right now, to defend our land?"

"There's one more problem, though." Byrna said after a second, a concerned expression spreading across her face a moment later as she looked around, at her new teammates, "I can't guarantee we'll have a safe trip."

"I thought you had all that figured out." Link objected at once, looking horrified, "I mean, you said your machine was instant..."

"Oh, my device is safe enough." Byrna replied, eager to put that fear, at least, to rest, "The problem is that the coordinates we were given make no sense. They don't even seem to correspond to a real place at all. In fact, they look as if they're designed to change our very state of being."

"Into what?" Link asked, growing more worried every second.

"Well, I couldn't tell you for sure," Byrna admitted, "but if I had to guess, I'd say someone is trying to transport us somewhere that would require our bodies to be changed, just survive there. Of course, even if they are, we might not notice the change."

"I don't want to walk into a machine that's going to rearrange my cells." Ruto objected a second later, but Byrna was already waving her armored hands, to try to calm her new teammate down.

"Your cells will be fine." Byrna replied reassuringly, "I'm more concerned with where we'll end up. We might even wind up in a completely different world."

For a few seconds, no one said anything else, but finally, it was Zelda who spoke up.

"We're being threatened by whoever is at the other end of those coordinates. I don't care if they're across the street, or the world, or the universe. I'm going."

Though they were all hesitant at first, in the end, each of Hyrule's champions nodded in turn, to show their agreement with what Zelda had just said.

* * *

Swiftly, the group was led into the laboratory's inner rooms, where a collection of three platforms were arranged on the floor.

"I've been building them as fast as I could," Byrna announced as she started to activate them one by one, "but there's only three so far, so we'll have to take turns, and go in two groups."

However, Ruto was still looking a little shy around those large machines, and after a moment, she asked Byrna a very nervous question.

"Is this going to be painful?" Ruto asked. However, Byrna just looked puzzled when she was asked that question.

"Hmmm..." Byrna muttered to herself for a moment, "Honestly, I'm not sure. You see, I've never used it on a living creature before."

Ruto swallowed hard, as the platforms opened up, and a thick blur appeared before them. Slowly, in spite of her fear, Ruto stepped forward, along with a couple of the others, and they mounted the platforms together. Byrna had already set the dials properly, to take them to where they were expected to be, so almost as soon as they were on the platforms, Darunia, Ruto and Zelda vanished, leaving only Link, Stalflare and Byrna behind.

Quickly, Byrna walked across the room, and locked the door into the laboratory, then dropped the key into a pocket attached to her belt, though it took her a moment before she made any attempt to explain why she'd done that.

"Now no one will burst in and turn off these devices while we're away." Byrna said, seeming to have thought it through pretty well by then, "At this point, I'd rather they stay on, just in case it becomes necessary to rush back here and use them again."

"Well," Link said with worry in his voice, as he stepped up to the central platform, "I guess there's no point in waiting any longer."

Then Link, Stalflare and Byrna stepped onto the platforms, and vanished from that place, and from Hyrule entirely. They left their homes, their country, and their world behind, and all three of them were praying in silence, as the boundaries of their home reality passed them by. In spite of how boldly, they'd all leapt into that danger, each was afraid that they might never be able to return home safely from that strange, new conflict of champions.


	10. Pt2 Ch2 The Conflict Begins

Chapter 2: The Conflict Begins

* * *

Almost as soon as the last three champions of Hyrule had stepped into the transportation devices, a strange creature tumbled out of the air just outside the laboratory on the banks of the lake, and landed on his face in the mud. He was, by hylian standards, somewhat frail. He tired easily, was bad with magic, and extremely vulnerable to disease and illness brought on by some types of malnourishment, but he was alive, and except for a few scrapes, he wasn't even injured either.

The creature's name was Mark Fitzgerald. He was a former lawyer, a student of philosophy and psychology, and something of an amateur historian, but he was also a kind of person that Hyrule had never seen before, and in fact, he'd never seen Hyrule in his life either.

As quickly as he could, Mark stumbled to his feet and brushed off his jacket. He had no idea where he was. Only minutes before, he'd fallen into a strange device, being gradually pushed forward by a crowd of people, but suddenly, he felt like he'd collided with something large and hard, and had wound up in that place, wherever it was.

Swiftly, Mark looked around for a few moments, trying to get his bearings and figure out where he'd ended up, but he didn't recognize the lake, the building, the mountain range, or the pass leading over the water to the south. In fact, nothing that he could see in that place was terribly familiar, and it only took him a couple of seconds to realize the truth; that device, which had carried off the champions of his world, had also gotten him hopelessly lost in some place he'd never seen before.

By the time Mark had come to grips with all of that, however, he'd also started to notice that a large, powerful-looking creature had taken an interest in him, and that creature, at least, looked familiar, since Mark had seen lots of horses before. Of course, he hadn't been expecting to see a horse. He was a city person, after all, and although, like everyone, he'd seen pictures of horses in books and on television, he'd never seen one in person before.

After a moment, though, Mark's thoughts started working, as he considered the horse, and just what it meant for him. After all, the horse was wearing a saddle and reins, so it must have been owned by someone. In fact, Mark thought for a moment, it was unusual to see a horse with a saddle roaming free on its own like that. Most of the horses that he'd seen on television only left their enclosures when someone was riding them. That might have been just a televised fabrication, of course, but somehow, he doubted it. It just made too much sense to be a lie.

Still, if the horse did belong to someone, then there had to be people nearby; people who could tell him where he was, or even how to get back home. Maybe, he thought after a moment, the people living in that place would even thank him for bringing their horse back to them. The moment the thought occurred to him, Mark decided that that was exactly what he was going to try, and quickly, he reached for the reins of the horse with one hand, trying to be as gentle as possible with the suspicious-looking beast.

However, as Mark approached it, the horse seemed to glare at him with wary eyes. After another moment, Mark tried to calm it down by reaching out for the creature's mane, but it drew back in suspicion the moment he did, and circled around him, examining him from every angle.

When that happened, Mark could tell that that horse was definitely not ordinary, because although it was obviously still a beast of burden, it was also displaying great curiosity; something that Mark had never heard of a horse doing. Just then, however, a shout came from the large building nearby; which was tall, and perched over the water of the lake underneath it on thick, wooden supports. When Mark turned towards the source of the voice, however, he saw a man rushing out towards him, but there was something odd about that man. His ears were much longer and more pointed than any ears that Mark had ever seen in his life.

"Hey!" the man with the long ears said, looking at Mark in worry as he rushed forward, his thick, brown hair shivering in the light breeze, "I'd be careful around Epona. She's kind of picky about who she lets touch her."

When he heard that, however, Mark drew back from "Epona," and walked closer to the pointy-eared young man, already feeling thankful for the warning, though he'd started to notice the horse's choosy temperament already.

"Excuse me." Mark began, feeling a little nervous about the strange situation that he was suddenly in, "I'm sorry. I didn't know. Um... The thing is... I'm not sure where I am, exactly."

By that time, however, the pointy-eared young man had begun to stare quite hard at Mark's ears, as if he was just as shocked by Mark's ears as Mark was by his. For a few moments, it made Mark feel almost embarrassed.

"Yes." the man said after just a couple of seconds, eventually ignoring the visitor's ears, "I can tell you're not from around here. You must be lost. Alright. I'll tell you what I can. My name's Colodine, and we're at the Lakeside Laboratory in the kingdom of Hyrule. Now it's my turn to ask a few questions, I suppose. What's your name, and how'd you get here?"

"Um... Mark." the former lawyer admitted quickly, "I'm not really sure how I got here, but I come from a country; not a kingdom. Are you saying you're living under a communist dictatorship?"

However, those words just seemed to have confused Colodine, as if he'd never heard them before in his life, and when he finally replied to them, he didn't look as if he'd really understood the question at all.

"We're ruled by King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, and governed by the kingdom's guards. They're the ones who enforce justice."

Mark had been hoping for a clearer answer than that, but for the moment, he decided to take it as a yes.

"Well," Mark said at last, putting one hand over his forehead in frustration, "If I don't know how I got here, and neither do you, it won't be easy to get back."

"You can't stay here, unfortunately." Colodine replied, looking a little concerned as he glanced back towards the building he'd just emerged from, "There aren't any guest bedrooms at the laboratory, but if you want, you can go north to Kakariko Village. If you're trying to get home, someone there might be able to help you, and in the meantime, they can probably give you a decent place to stay."

* * *

After what felt like several seconds, Link, Stalflare and Byrna found themselves somewhere completely new, and it was a very disturbing place at that. The walls around them were dark and dingy, like a foul dungeon, but it was easy to see that the place wasn't meant as a prison, exactly, because the single door on the far end of the room didn't have a lock. Aside from that, however, the only real comfort in that room was the presence of Link's other friends; Ruto, Darunia and the Princess Zelda.

After a few seconds, Link reached for the doorknob on the far side of the room and turned it, but stopped almost immediately, because he could feel that someone else was turning it from the other side. In response, Link stepped back, as the door was opened from the outside, and by the time it was all the way open, Link's eyes started to widen, at the sight of the person standing there.

The person who'd just opened the chamber door appeared to be a hylian of some sort, but he had a terrible look of depression in his eyes, reinforced with malignance and misplaced pride. Evil was written across every line of the man's face. In spite of how he looked, Link knew that he wasn't a hylian at all. In fact, he was more like some kind of monster. The hylian-like man wore black armor, and carried a long spear with many jagged edges, which was clearly designed to avoid delivering a clean blow. Every aspect of him seemed to be sculpted around hate, fear, malice and violence.

"You're some of the last to arrive." the hylian-like guard said, in a tone of voice that betrayed that he was both disgusted by Link, and very afraid of him too, "Follow me."

The evil man turned immediately, and walked back out through the door, and down the hallway beyond, and not sure what else to do, Link just walked after him, with the others following down the hallway which, though large, still managed to feel confining, just like the room they'd arrived in. Link was first in line, followed by Zelda, then Stalflare, Darunia, Ruto and Byrna. As they walked, the evil man seemed to be attempting to explain something about the upcoming event, but he clearly wasn't trying to help them, exactly, and there was even a sense that he would have liked nothing better than to see them all smashed against a rock.

"My master demands that I take you to entry hall thirty, so that's what I'll do. Once you get there, you'll be among other champions, and you'll be told the terms of this contest. It's not for me to say any more about what they are."

Soon, the hylian team had reached the end of the hall, and the man opened the large, wooden door that was there, and motioned for Link and the others to proceed inside.

As soon as they entered the chamber beyond the doors, Link started to feel worried again, and all the others were astonished at the sight in front of them. All around them were creatures; each obviously with their own talents and abilities, and no two looking exactly the same.

Link could see fifty-foot dragons, tiny bipedal animals and insects, enormous giants, and even creatures with more arms, legs, or heads than hylians had. There were beasts that had horns on their lips, creatures with many eyes, no eyes, only one eye, many mouths, and even some that seemed to be made out of water, wind or fire. There were beasts that wore nothing, and creatures dressed in red, brown or black. There were even a couple wearing cloaks. They were all unique creatures, but the room that contained them was nothing unique at all. It was a massive courtyard, with charcoal-black walls on every side, lined with huge spikes, facing inward. However, Link only had a few seconds to look around at all of those powerful-looking fighters, before he heard a deep, yet clear voice speak out, seemingly from the heavens themselves.

"Excellent. You're all here. I can begin."

That strange, deafening voice seemed to have scared a number of the people in that large, walled-in area, but they all seemed determined as well, just like Link and his friends were, and that was when Link realized that they must have been champions from other lands; people who, like himself, were only trying to protect the safety of their own home-worlds. Once he realized that, Link started to feel pretty bad about that apparent competition. After all, many of them were probably great heroes, and he didn't want to hurt anyone who was willing to be heroic.

"I'm the master of this conflict." The thunderous voice said, "My name isn't important. What does matter is that right now, I have all the power I need to kill all of you, and everyone you love if you refuse to comply with my terms."

When the voice said that, everyone in that area fell silent; even the few who'd been shouting, in the hopes of being heard. The voice continued, however, though it made no effort to calm the various fighters down after that devastating announcement.

"All of you are great champions of your people. In fact, you were chosen just for that purpose. The champions of five thousand worlds now stand in my courtyards. I have sixty-four of these courtyards, which I made with my powers, so each one contains several hundred fighters. Now, I'm going to be honest with you all. Shockingly few of you will proceed into the conflict itself. In fact, only one team from each courtyard will fight in the conflict that I've arranged. However, just to be cruel to those of you who won't make it in, let me tell you what we're fighting for."

As the voice said that, an image appeared in the air above the courtyards, which resembled an enormous gemstone, glowing with some kind of blue light.

"This gemstone is very rare and special." the voice explained casually, "Only one exists on each world, and they're all connected. When you channel a spell, or other form of energy into one gem, it comes out of all of them. Therefore, if I were to place this gem in a fire, all the gems everywhere would surround themselves with flames. But, I've done something far more important with this gem. I've imbued it with a portion of my magic. It took a lot of effort, but right now, whoever receives this gem will be able to wish for anything they want; money, love, power or anything else, and all forces everywhere, in all realities would rise up to grant that wish. There's only enough magic for one wish like that, but it's an impressive prize nonetheless."

With that, the image of the stone vanished, and a long list with names on it appeared in its place.

"I've written down all your names on this list." the voice continued a moment later, "If you fail before or during this conflict, your name will be crossed off my list, and you and all of your companions will be returned to your home-world. Then, your participation in this conflict will end. When the number of whole teams has been lowered to sixty-four, there's going to be a tournament of sorts, to determine who's the greatest. That team will do battle with a team of my choosing. If they claim victory, the stone will be theirs, and the fate of your worlds will be in their hands, but if I claim victory, every universe but my own will collapse in on itself, and everything that you've ever known will perish. Because of this, the only way to save your worlds is to defeat me and claim my prize. To make a long story short, it's definitely in your best interests to do as I say."

Link frowned as he listened to that mad speech. If any of what that voice had said was true, then things were even worse than he'd thought.

"The specific rules of the conflict itself will be explained to you later, if you happen to be one of the few who makes it in." the voice continued callously, "Most of you won't have to know any more than the rules of this one first fight. You've been gathered into sixty-four courtyards, and your weakest members will decide whether or not you win your chance at the competition itself. Those gathered in each courtyard will fight with everyone who isn't on their team. You'll fight until your enemies are either dead, or too injured to continue fighting; whichever comes first. If one of the members of your team falls in this battle, your team loses, and will be transported at once back to your home-world with the knowledge that your destiny lies in the hands of others. The winner is the last full team of six that's still in any condition to fight. This combat will begin in ten minutes, so discuss strategies amongst yourselves in the meantime."

"This is insane!" Zelda exclaimed to Link and the others, almost as soon as the strange conflict master had stopped talking, "Does he really expect us to fight, and even kill champions like us?"

"Yes, he does." Link replied, though he was looking more thoughtful than upset, "I'm impressed by how well he's planned it all out, too."

"What?" Zelda asked in frustration, seeming shocked that Link would even suggest agreeing to that kind of barbaric contest, "Are you saying we should kill these people?"

"Well, yes." Link replied, looking very calm about the whole thing, "We don't have much choice. Our only other option is to refuse to fight, which would hardly help our cause."

"I can't just take a life like that." Zelda insisted, however, looking very determined, "It's not in me."

"He doesn't want us to take lives," Link replied, however, with a firm shake of his head, "only to kill or injure. That's why he offered us the prize of a single wish if we win. For people with no real ethics, a wish would mean total control, but for those with high moral standards, like ourselves, that wish would mean the resurrection of everyone and everything harmed by his foolish game. When you think about it that way, it's even more important for us, or someone else like us claim victory in this conflict. I'll bet that some people have already died because of him, and if we want to set that right, we need the wish he's offering."

Zelda felt like slapping herself across the face. Impa had been absolutely right to tell her that she was lacking in observation. She hadn't even been able to determine that simple solution to those moral difficulties, and Link had. It was a little hard to face, but Zelda could tell that in that area, Link was far superior to her.

"So, do we have a plan for how to win?" Ruto asked, immediately focusing on what Link had been saying. However, the Hero of Time was already starting to look grim.

"No," Link replied in an irritated tone of voice, "and don't bother trying to come up with one. The person orchestrating this conflict has a sick sense of humor. That comment about making plans when we know nothing about the powers our foes possess was obviously meant as some kind of twisted joke. Besides, even if we did know anything about our enemies, we're going to be in the middle of a massive free-for-all, and any plan we made wouldn't survive long in that kind of environment."

"So we can't plan for anything?" Darunia asked, starting to look badly disappointed, but as soon as he realized how upset his friend was, Link decided that it would probably be best to say the one thing that might comfort him.

"No." Link added, "There are a few rules we can follow, if you need tactics. Don't make too much noise, strike from behind unless it's absolutely impossible, and whatever you do, don't get injured. Apart from that, be ready to get creative. You never know what kind of strange abilities or weapons these champions might have. Also, it's probably not a good idea if we're separated from one another too much in the middle of the fight. If we need to support each other, I'd rather have an easy time reaching you all."

"That's all good advise in any battle," Darunia said in a disappointed tone of voice, "but I was hoping for something a little more concrete."

"Yes." Link replied bitterly a moment later, "Me too."

Link's team, and in fact, many of the teams in that chamber spent the rest of the time before the start of the fight carefully observing the people around them, in an attempt to determine their powers and weaknesses somehow, but they hadn't even had a chance to glance at a quarter of the fighters in that area, when the word "begin" was shouted across the courtyard, and chaos descended on them all like a ton of bricks. Everyone seemed to be hitting, or slashing, or firing at everyone else, and Link found that there was little enough space in the courtyard to move, much less dodge the attacks being aimed at him from all directions.

"In that case, I'll have to make some space." Link thought to himself, as he ducked under an attack formed from compressed air, he shoved both hands to the ground. With that, the dome of flames that constituted Din's fire rushed out from his body, consuming several nearby creatures in a blazing inferno, which, in turn, caused them and several others (apparently members of their team) to vanish. Zelda had begun breaking chunks of stone out of the walls, and using them as blunt weapons with her telekinesis, turning invisible when the need arose, so that she could ambush her enemies without being seen. One dragon, and apparently, his entire team were vanquished by one of those flying boulders.

As the only winged member of Link's team, Stalflare took flight immediately, towards the airborne opponents in the courtyard, swatting aside arrows and other projectiles with his wings, and dodging some of the more magical attacks with his fantastic speed. Of course, Stalflare could tell that most of the flying creatures there were far weaker than him, and those few who could match his strength didn't seem to be sorcerers in any sense, so he went after the weaker ones first, hoping that by doing so, he might strike down the rest of their teams by default. In a fight of that nature, after all, that was the real point.

Byrna had transformed both of her gauntlets into projectile weapons again by that point, and was firing off pressurized shots at any face she didn't recognize. Only a couple survived that attack head-on, but for the most part, they were busy fighting with the other teams, and didn't have time to react to every attack leveled against them.

Ruto and Darunia proved to be an excellent team when it came to dealing with physically-weaker fighters. They'd lift the smaller fighters clean off their feet, sometimes one in each hand, and hurl them across the room, where they'd either collide with other warriors, or with one of the walls. It wasn't typical for them to get back up again after taking that kind of punishment.

Once his assault had begun, Link himself seemed like a virtual whirlwind. The Master Sword dashed one way, then another, cleaving weapons and limbs alike, with a swiftness which, to someone of Link's kind disposition, must have taken all of his self-control. Whenever he could get free of his opponents, he'd either check on his allies, or release a volley of arrows into the air. One particularly strong flying creature was downed by an ice arrow and shattered to pieces on the floor, and on a couple of occasions, when Link was faced with an enemy of a humungous size, he'd put away his weapons completely, lift his foe up by one of their feet, and throw them against the spikes lining the courtyard. If not for the fact that each enemy and their entire team vanished at the first sign of failure, there was no doubt that the arena would have been a much more terrible mess by the midpoint of the fight.

At last, when each member of Link's team felt like they'd beaten a dozen enemies by themselves, the battle had gotten all the way down to only two teams, and Link and his allies found themselves facing only six powerful-looking enemies. Zelda and Link both had minor cuts on their legs by that point, and Byrna's left cheek had been slashed up by a flower petal of some unnaturally-sharp variety, but a collection of stone giants stood before them; the last champions in the courtyard, aside from themselves.

In some ways, of course, Link suspected that that fight would be the hardest one, since there weren't any extra enemies to distract either team. That could, he realized, turn out to be an advantage for either of them. Given what was at stake, Link knew that he couldn't afford to get overconfident, though. Quickly, the Hero of Time fitted another ice arrow into his bow, and Darunia curled up into a ball. Byrna seemed to be servicing her weapons quickly, while Stalflare and Zelda both stood behind Link, their eyes glowing brightly with magic power, as they prepared their own new attacks.

One giant of about fifty feet tall led the charge against Hyrule's defenders, with a large, stone club in one hand, prompting a swift reaction from the Hero of Time. Link leapt on top the club in one enormous jump, midway through that first swing, and fired off his ice arrow before leaping back to the ground again. The ice arrow caused a thick-looking frost to start spreading across the giant's shoulder, but unfortunately, it didn't seem to have done any more damage than that. Then, suddenly, Link's entire team heard a clear message inside their own thoughts.

"Cover your eyes."

All of Hyrule's champions immediately realized that the thought had been a warning from Princess Zelda, and they all reacted quickly, each shielding their eyes in their own way, as Zelda's own eyes let out a series of blinding flashes, which seemed to distract and stun the stone giants for a moment, but they still didn't look as if they'd really been hurt by that low-level spell, so in another moment, she and Stalflare attacked again, with spells of fire, exorcisms, and even attempted earth-control and transmogrifying spells. The problem was, however, that the giants seemed to have some form of protection from magic, and the spells of the hyrulian team weren't having much of any effect at all. Just then, however, Darunia unrolled in front of one of the giants, and pulling out his hammer, struck one of them right in the leg.

The moment the blow made contact, the giant's stone leg seemed to be tearing itself to pieces on its own. In fact, it was shattered so thoroughly, that it seemed to have almost disintegrated. At first, the giant tried to balance on one leg, as if somehow hoping to save its team from defeat, but in an instant, Link had run up to the fighter with his own Megaton Hammer, and struck the giant's other leg as hard as he could, while dodging the attacks of the others. Almost at once, the other leg blew apart, and just like that, the stone giants were gone, and Link and his team were alone in the courtyard of the being who called himself the Conflict Master.

"Well, that certainly took long enough." the voice said from above in mock-irritation, "At any rate, you've won your own preliminary fights, so you'll be competing in our little conflict after all. Winners, please walk through the red door to the front of the courtyard."

As the Conflict Master said that, sure enough, a large, red door seemed to appear from nowhere, leading, apparently, to a new section of the building, but Link still wasn't dropping his guard. In fact, he was more wary in that moment than he had been during the entire fight.

"Is there anything dangerous behind that door, Zelda?" Link asked carefully, not looking away from the door for even a second as he spoke, but after focusing carefully on the door for a few seconds, Zelda eventually shook her head and shrugged.

"This whole place is dangerous, but I don't sense any more champions there."

It still took Link a couple of seconds to nod in acknowledgement of Zelda's answer after that, but their path was clear enough. After all, it seemed to have been planned out for them very thoroughly.

* * *

From the darkness that resided in and around every universe, the master of the conflict observed the names of the fighters who'd progressed into the conflict itself, and he was pleased to see that Hyrule's team had been one of them.

"I knew they'd be able to make it at least this far." the master of the conflict said aloud to himself, once again in his normal, less-thundrous voice. It was a voice that was both young and experienced, yet tainted by corruption and brute force as well. He couldn't have been more than twenty years old, but he was the most evil mortal who'd ever existed.

Standing by the Conflict Master's side was a young woman, who was among the mightiest of his servants. She'd been watching the fighters from Hyrule, just as she'd been told to, though her view of them and their fight had been a bit different than his.

"Of course you knew." she said, sounding very disinterested in the whole thing, "Honestly, I found the fight rather boring. Hardly any of them were in any real danger at all."

"Of course it was boring." the master of the conflict replied, almost casually, "The real conflict hasn't started yet. When it does, the rules will be different. Trust me. There's going to be pain for the Hero of Time and his friends. He and his people are going to face suffering, and they're going to face death. They'll have to, if they even want to have the chance to prove the strength of their own resolve."

Then, the evil one started laughing, and although his voice was a beautiful one by nature, the evil intent that it was filled with made that laughter painful to hear.

* * *

When the fight was over, Link had been expecting to be met by the same evil guard who'd brought them to the courtyard, and as it turned out, that was precisely what happened. As soon as the group from Hyrule opened the red door, the guard was waiting on the other side, clearly expecting them to follow him again, though he didn't suggest it aloud.

"You've been designated team thirty," the guard said, as he led them down a sparsely-lit corridor, "so you're being given temporary quarters here. It'll be some time before your next fight, so you'll have a while to get used to the resources that we're giving you."

Soon, the group of seven arrived at a door labeled with the number thirty, and the guard opened it for them, to reveal a short hallway with several doors, labeled with the numbers one through six.

"You can divide the rooms up amongst yourselves." the guard said warily, "Each room is completely identical. They contain a bed, a chair, a desk, some writing material, and a set of drawers to put your belongings in, all of which are enchanted to change their own shape, size and structure to suit your needs. Each room also contains a teleportation device, so that you can return to your own world if you don't like our accommodations, but if you don't return for your assigned fights, you'll forfeit your chance to fight."

It all seemed, to Link, like a lot of trouble to go to, trying to be nice to people who were going to be fighting for their lives very soon, and there was one thing that puzzled him more than anything else.

"How do you know we won't come back with weapons?" Link asked, but the guard's reply to that came disturbingly quickly.

"On the contrary," the guard explained, though he still looked nervous as he spoke, "the master both expects and encourages that you do. In your future fights, you'll need as much weaponry as you can lay your hands on."

It was clear that Link hadn't been expecting that answer. He was so used to fighting ordinary opponents, who struggled for every possible advantage, that the idea of the master of the conflict encouraging the use of additional weapons was both new, startling, and when he stopped to think about it, just a little terrifying. After all, it meant that the Conflict Master clearly had no fears for his own life.

"Will we have to use our own teleport platforms to get back here if we leave?" Byrna asked next, though she didn't really look like any answer to that question would have upset her too much.

"No." the guard replied with a shake of his head, "Our devices teleport themselves too; not just their cargo. It's a very useful advancement to the technology, in our experience."

Byrna seemed to just be nodding to herself a moment later, as if puzzling over how, exactly, to replicate that feat, but she obviously didn't have any more questions, so Stalflare spoke up next, looking as perturbed as always.

"How long do we have before the next battle?" Stalflare asked.

"It's hard to say." the guard replied with a shrug, "It depends on how long some of the other battles take, but I'd say between eight and twelve hours."

At first, Link spent a few moments looking into the eyes of his friends, to make sure they all felt the same way he did, but he didn't really have anything to worry about. At last, he spoke to the guard again, and in that moment, he was speaking for all of them.

"We're ready anytime."

A few moments later, the guard left the room, seemingly in a much bigger hurry than he had been on the way there, and Link was left alone with his friends again. It was only then that any of them really felt like they could speak freely.

"Considering the kind of competition we're being faced with so far," Stalflare said, almost before the door had closed behind the guard, "I barely feel like I need to sleep at all."

"Still," Link replied, looking suspiciously after the retreating guard, "there's something about this whole situation that tells me things are going to get a lot worse. This 'master of the conflict' is obviously our biggest worry, if he thinks he's immune to any weapon that we could possibly retrieve from Hyrule."

"He is immune; at least for now." Ruto observed, "If we want to hurt him, we have to find him first."

The truth of that point was undeniable. As long as the "Conflict Master" hid himself in the shadows, and only spoke from the skies, it was impossible to determine his location, much less attack him. That made their situation look pretty grim. Still, it was always possible that things would look better in the morning, when they'd all had a chance to attack the problem from a fresh perspective. In the meantime, there was one more thing that Link wanted to try.

"The rest of you can go back to Hyrule if you want." Link said, suddenly looking even more serious than he had before, "For tonight, I'm sleeping here."

Stalflare had spent the last several moments healing up the minor cuts and bruises that they'd each received in that last big fight, though he had to admit that wounds or no wounds, he didn't relish the thought of falling asleep in a dark, foreboding place like that.

* * *

The moment that Ruto opened the door to the room she'd picked, which was number five, it was apparent to her what the guard had meant about the contents of the rooms changing to accommodate their inhabitant. When she set foot in her room, she could see the furniture changing size and composition, to resemble the kind she had in her own room back home. The ceiling rose up nearly a foot to accommodate her rather large height, and her bed was the best part of all. Instead of a regular bed, it had become a recess in the ground, measuring almost eight feet in every direction; full of water, and containing several varieties of fish, coral and seaweed. It was a micro-ecosystem; full of life, and it seemed to almost pulse with the energy of innocent, non-sentient creatures. It was the environment that Ruto had, over the course of her life, gradually become accustomed to.

Slowly, Ruto gripped the edges of the small pool, and lowered herself into it, savoring the feeling, as her skin and gills started to grow hardier, the moment they made contact with the water. The fresh water did what it always did to a Zora of her class; it increased her endurance to heat, cold and pressure, to aid in her underwater survival. That was what it meant to be a zora; dominating both land and water, as long as there was a full supply of both.

In such a comfortable environment, Ruto's thoughts began to wander onto all manner of subjects. Mostly, though, what she was feeling was self-doubt, and she found that she was asking herself a number of unpleasant questions. What was she really doing there anyway? Had she gone just because she wanted Link to feel like she wasn't a whiner, or someone who made excuses for her actions? Did she actually want to improve herself in some way, or did she just want to impress Link? Those were the kinds of questions that, for several moments, swirled through her head, like water going down a drain.

For whatever reason, it was the words of Link that echoed most sharply in Ruto's head. He'd more or less told her that he had no problem with her being a zora; that being of a non-hylian race was no real obstacle to romance. Still, being called a whiner had hurt, most of all because Ruto knew that there was at least some truth to it. She had been raised as Zora royalty, after all.

Maybe, she thought for a moment, if she'd gone to a hylian school as a little girl, she might not have wound up being spoiled by her father, who'd also been spoiled throughout pretty much his entire life. She'd never really seen anything wrong with making someone else do things for her, even if she could have done them herself. It was just part of being royalty. She only started to see problems with that way of life when the other zora had decided to take action against the hylians, and her kind of leadership was seen as insufficient, so there'd been a revolution.

Her father had been unable to survive the stress placed on him during that time, and she'd been forced to flee to the Water Temple, which had become the only place where she could really be safe from the other zoras.

It was a lot for one spoiled, little rich girl to have to go through, and it had been much more painful for her than anything else she'd ever experienced. When Ruto thought about it that way, it really irked her that Link was calling her a whiner, just because she'd complained about all that rotten stuff she'd gone through, or made a few excuses for herself. She had, after all, been dealt a bad hand in life, and if that didn't give her the right to complain, she couldn't imagine anything that would have.

"I have every right to complain." Ruto said to herself defiantly at last, "The last three years were completely miserable. I lost my kingdom, my people, my lo..."

However, Ruto stopped herself before she could finished that sentence. She didn't dare to say that she'd lost her love, as if that was a part of her seemingly-constant bad luck. She'd ruined her chance at love with Link through her own bad behavior, and she had to wonder if deep down inside, she was only participating in the conflict to overcompensate for that, as if pretending to be some kind of hero could somehow get her that chance back. In fact, Ruto was starting to wonder if she'd really joined in Link's plan to prove something to him, or to prove something to herself instead, and she wasn't sure at all. She was having a hard time telling how she really felt, and it confused her to no end.

As she contemplated those things, however, Ruto heard a knock at her door, and although she wasn't sure who it was, she quickly responded to the person outside.

"Come in."

As it turned out, the person who stepped through the door a moment later, closing it behind her was Princess Zelda. She was dressed in her pink gown, and looking tired and worried, but that didn't concern Ruto too much, until Zelda explained why she was there.

"You were thinking too loud." Zelda said, nearly scaring Ruto out of her wits, as she remembered her friend's telepathic abilities, "I heard you from my room, all the way at the other end of the hall."

Ruto blushed horribly once she realized that Zelda had been listening to all her doubts and feelings; even the ones about Link.

"I'm not going to scold you for how you feel about Link," Zelda said swiftly, apparently trying to calm Ruto down, "but you might want to think about making some choices for yourself. If you're not contented, just do something about it."

"So you think I should leave this place if I'm content with who I am?" Ruto asked, almost hoping that that was going to be Zelda's advice, but the Princess shook her head almost at once in reply.

"No." Zelda said quickly, "For the time being, you have to follow through with this. It's your duty."

Ruto had to spent a few moments thinking about that. As a young princess, she'd paid much more attention to her privileges than her duties, but she couldn't ignore the fact that those duties did exist. At last, she replied to Zelda, though she still felt a little confused and unsure of herself as she did so.

"I guess it doesn't matter why I got into this, really. It won't change the fact that I'm here."

"Worry is the same way, you know." Zelda replied, though she seemed to be feeling a little better already, "You can't use worry to change your situation in life. All it does is make you less prepared to deal with it."

"I'm running over a lot of things in my head; things I've done in the past, and things I haven't done." Ruto admitted sadly, "But it's mostly because I have to think about something."

"In that case, think about your future." Zelda suggested, starting to smile again, "Dwelling on your past follies is bad for your psyche, and it doesn't fix them."

"But what if I'm not sure about something?" Ruto asked, her doubts suddenly returning all at once, "What if there's something I just don't know about myself or my feelings?"

"Then you don't know it." Zelda replied with a casual shrug, "You just have to make the best decision you can, and always try to do what you think is right. That's the way hylians live their lives, and it's a nice policy for anybody. If you think you've made mistakes in the past, that's alright. So has everyone, but you can't let it bias your judgment in the here and now. You have to do the right thing now, even if you didn't always when you were younger."

"You're talking as if you did bad things too, when you were young." Ruto said, finally smiling again, although she was quickly becoming interested in what kinds of rotten things Zelda herself had done as a child.

"Well..." Zelda replied, looking a bit hesitant when Ruto brought that subject up, "Childhood is the time of inexperience and mistakes for all hylians. Even I once played a stupid prank, a long time ago..."

"Tell me about it!" Ruto exclaimed, already feeling enthusiastic, and eager to know the princess's childhood secret, since Zelda obviously knew hers.

At that point, however, it was Zelda's turn to blush, because she didn't look willing to share any information about her own childhood at all.

"No." Zelda said, almost looking terrified for a moment, "I... Well, I... I don't think that would be for the best. I'm a different person now, and as I've just told you, I'd rather not dwell on past mistakes."

Then, without another word, even to say good-bye, Zelda rushed from the room, and Ruto had a feeling that in the future, Zelda was going to regret bringing the subject up. After all, she shouldn't have been listening in on Ruto's thoughts anyway, and under the circumstances, Ruto didn't feel the least bit badly about how uncomfortable she'd made Hyrule's princess feel.

In fact, Ruto was worrying so little that latter on in the evening, she found that she wasn't having any difficulty getting to sleep, but Zelda was up for quite a while after that.

* * *

"Not that I don't appreciate having a guest," the woman, whose name was Ramie said as she sat down in a wooden chair on the other side of the table, "but if you're really going to stay here, then I think you should tell me a few more things first. To start with, I'd like to know a little more about what you are, exactly."

Mark was a little surprised by that request, because he'd been sitting in that place for nearly ten minutes, eating a dinner that Ramie had just offered to him. At last, however, he put down the fresh, cold milk that he'd been finishing his meal with, and looked up at Ramie again, feeling a little worried. He could certainly tell her everything she wanted to know. She was a very nice woman, after all, and she'd gone to a lot of trouble to make the upstairs room of her shop a suitable guest bedroom for him. On top of that, she'd even given him a free dinner that night, but the problem was that even if he told her everything about who he was, and where he'd come from, he wasn't sure that she'd believe him. Eventually, though, after a brief, confused sigh, Mark decided that the only thing he could really do was tell her everything he knew, and hope she took it well.

"I'm a human being." Mark began, starting with the most basic facts about himself, "I come from a city that's really far away, I guess. I'm not even sure how far away it is, in fact. There was some kind of machine that brought me here. It was pretty strange-looking, and it had a bizarre, blurry-looking area between the top and bottom, but it didn't look like there was anything really causing that weird blur. I was pushed into that blurry area, and then I ended up here. I'm not even really sure how it happened."

"What kind of city do you come from?" Ramie asked, though fortunately, she didn't look like she was having any trouble believing Mark yet, so after a moment's hesitation, he decided to answer that question as well.

"The city I live in is called New York. It's a very big city, and the buildings there are huge. They're made from glass and metal, and they stretch up to the sky, like towers. It's really something to see."

Much to Mark's surprise, Ramie was still apparently believing him, but there was a look of confused curiosity on her face, which he couldn't decipher, at first, until she interrupted him; obviously eager to ask him a question of some kind.

"Why?"

"What do you mean?" he asked her, really not understanding what she meant.

"Well, why would anyone build a building with walls that aren't comfortable to the touch? More to the point, why would anyone build a building more than three stories high? Shouldn't people be allowed to live and work on the ground from which they were made?"

Mark was very surprised by those questions, since they certainly came from an alien sort of perspective, but after getting over his initial surprise, he tried to answer them quickly.

"Well, some people don't have much choice." Mark explained, "You see, there are so many people in one place, working so hard, that people have to build upward, to keep the city from getting too crowded."

"I'm sorry. That's very sad." Ramie replied a moment later, really looking as if she pitied Mark, "I can't even imagine what it would be like to never see the beauty of an open plain, or a sprawling desert. It must be terribly taxing to have such a crowded world."

However, by that point, Mark could see that Ramie had misinterpreted what he'd said, and hurried to correct her as best he could.

"Oh, the world isn't crowded," Mark said quickly, "just certain areas of it. We do have plains, deserts, and things like that, we just gather in large groups in pretty small places, like the city I live in. Twenty-five million people live in New York City alone."

A hundred questions seemed to be dashing through Ramie's mind at that point, because her expression was constantly changing, but she seemed to be sitting on most of the questions that had occurred to her. Eventually, though, she started giggling, and Mark got the distinct impression that she wasn't believing him anymore; an impression that was validated the next time she spoke to him.

"Oh, that's nonsense." Ramie replied, her laughter finally dying away, though she continued to smile in good humor as she talked, "No one would ever decide to live on top of their brothers and sisters, like bunkbeds into the sky. You must be joking with me."

Mark simply scowled at that point, though. He was starting to realize that explaining things to Ramie wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

By the time the sun set, sure enough, Mark hadn't made any further headway in explaining himself and his culture, and Ramie's reactions to his explanations were mixed. Sometimes, she'd seem to find Mark's explanations amusing, while other times, she'd tell him not to say things like that, especially when he'd get into specifics about human practices and policies. In fact, after a while, Ramie seemed to just be feeling irritated by his explanations as a whole, and just told him that it might be better if they didn't discuss things like that for a while. By that point, Mark was about ready to give up, and although it frustrated him that he couldn't explain things about the human race to Ramie, he was, in a sense, a little relieved that she was going to let him off the hook.

"I'll be leaving for my own house in a moment," Ramie eventually said, once the sun had been down for several minutes, "but I want to be sure you know your way around this place first, so if you follow me, I'll give you the full tour."

At once, Ramie picked up a candle from a table nearby, and started to walk upstairs, and although Mark was feeling exhausted from all the stress he'd been under during the day, he knew that he'd be better off doing what she'd said; at least for the moment.

At the top of the stairs, Ramie pointed out three doors in a short hallway, telling Mark that one led to a washroom, one to a clothes closet, and the last one to a bedroom, although she seemed to be trusting him to determine which one was which, and told him that anything he found on the upper floor was his to use, as long as he didn't remove it from the building, but that the items downstairs weren't for his use, except, of course, for the candle. As she said that, she handed it to him and told him good-night, walking downstairs and out through the front door. That was the last that Mark saw of her that night.

Mark had been in all sorts of places, and met all kinds of people over the course of his life, but he'd never met anybody who reacted quite like Ramie. She seemed to simply dismiss a lot of basic, human concepts as mere moonshine, like public employment, homes and food bought through free enterprise, and the necessity of pragmatism to adapt well to corporate greed. The problem was that in his various jobs, Mark had seen so many of those things, so often, that he couldn't decide whether to pity Ramie for her naiveté, or envy her. It was very confusing, and he was still puzzling over Ramie a few moments later, when he drifted slowly off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Link got up and put on his clothes and equipment, then for a while, he just sat around, debating whether to write something, or practice archery on the opposite wall. After a few minutes, however, Link's decision of what to do next was made for him, as the guard he'd seen on the previous day opened his door and made an announcement.

"You and your team will be the first to fight this morning. Be sure you're ready."

It was a very abrupt sort of announcement, made no less so, Link realized, by the fact that as soon as the guard had finished speaking, he'd left in a hurry, closing the door behind himself. In fact, unless Link had badly misjudged the man, he could have sworn that the cruel-looking guard was terrified of Hyrule's champions.

At once, Link got back to his feet again, grabbed his bag of equipment and his sword, then rushed to let the others know what he'd just been told, though they were all awake and dressed by that point anyway, except for Zelda, who was still in bed, so Link had to wake her up. It was a job that he wasn't exactly comfortable with, but there were, he knew, worse things.

At the end of ten minutes, all of Hyrule's champions were dressed and armed, and the group proceeded out of the living area they'd been given together, and down the corridor in the direction that the loudest noises and sounds of activity seemed to be coming from. After all, Link supposed, that must have been the place where they'd be fighting very soon.

As they walked forward, and the sounds from the more open area ahead grew louder and louder, Darunia looked over at Zelda, and could clearly see the bags under her eyes, which obviously meant that she hadn't gotten much sleep on the night before. Some of the others could see them too, but hadn't brought it up. However, Darunia was obviously worried about the princess, and after a few seconds of watching her carefully, he asked, "Are you okay? Did you sleep well last night?"

"I'll manage." was Zelda's reply, though Darunia still seemed to have found it worrying, since after all, they might need to excel just to survive in the near future.

For a moment, Link glanced around at his other companions, to try to get a handle on how each of them was feeling, and he was surprised to find that the emotions of his friends were written all over their faces. Stalflare looked understandably worried, of course, but there was also a strange shade of guilt in his expression, which Link didn't bother asking about. Byrna didn't seem worried at all, though. In fact, as little as the rest of Hyrule trusted science, it was obvious that Byrna had every confidence in her mastery of it, and in the bizarre machines that she was wearing. Darunia only seemed worried about Zelda; not about himself in the least, and as for Ruto... Well, Ruto seemed pretty confused, as if she was debating with herself deep down inside. She'd seemed a little nervous to Link on the night before, and some of that nervousness was obviously still lingering in her thoughts, forcing her to wrestle with herself over some problem or other. As for the Hero of Time, he looked at all of it objectively.

Link looked around as he walked down the corridor. It was a corridor made from dark stones, which seemed to have sharp edges protruding outward, and candle-holders resembling demons every few feet along the walls. At the end of the corridor was a dim light, like the light that comes through dark clouds in the daytime, and for a moment, he listened to the footfalls of his team behind him. He could hear the footsteps of a greide zwooda, two hylian women, one female zora, and a large, male goron as they followed him down the corridor. They were his friends, and since they were all in the same predicament, he knew that he could count on them in a pinch.

As Link stepped out of the corridor, however, he recoiled in horror from the sight in front of him. Walls of electricity surrounded them, beyond which he could see what looked like hylians watching, but their eyes were cruel; contorted. Above them the dark clouds allowed only a little light to be shed on the scene before them. In the center of that enormous, open hall were two large machines, which resembled vast, clawed hands, with lightening gems attached to their palms. Link could tell that they were a device that was used for transportation, but he had no idea where they led to.

However, the most hideous sight he saw there was the figure standing between the two machines, which was all the more terrible since, in some ways, she resembled Princess Zelda. She was shaped the same as he'd always seen her, but dressed in an ugly, black, short-sleeved shirt, and shorts that were much more revealing than tastefulness allowed for. Her eyes gleamed, not with kindness, sincerity, gentleness, and reason, but with malice, hatred, envy, and madness.

"Hero of Time." Zelda said scornfully, "You came here to play our little game, didn't you; the game you've been preparing for all your life? Don't you just love what you're about to do?"

Link grimaced at her choice of words, because there was no love in that hall. Except for himself and his friends, in fact, there was no good at all; only terrible evil, and although he could feel a force of greater evil nearby, the most wicked creature in his range of vision was Princess Zelda.

For a moment, Link spun around, trying the take the whole scene in, and wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him. What he was going through in that place was unmistakable; and the sights and sounds of the whole thing were very familiar to him. It was exactly the same, in fact, as his vision from the party, except that Zelda was in front of him, and also standing behind him. Understandably, however, the mouth of the Zelda behind Link was open in horror at the sight of the grotesque, twisted parody of herself and everything that she stood for. However, it seemed that Zelda's shock and dismay wasn't even going to slow down the other, cruel Zelda, because almost as soon as she'd seen the stunned look on Link's face, she continued to speak to them.

"Let combat begin!" the evil Zelda standing in front of them all said, motioning for a tall man to step forth from the shadows on the other side of the area, "Remember, you fight for the fate of your entire worlds!"

"Wait a minute!" Link yelled in desperation, so loud that all at once, nearly everyone in and around that area fell silent in surprise, as well as something that looked like fear, "There's a problem here. Something's very wrong. We still have no idea what's going on here, or what we're supposed to do."

However, although the crowd had clearly been shocked by Link's exclamations of anxiety, the wicked Zelda in front of them seemed unimpressed, raising one eyebrow in disdain, as she looked over their group.

"You'd know more if you were here earlier."

Suddenly, however, the voice from the day before gave a command; once again seeming to speak from the skies themselves, and the Zelda before them froze in terror at the sound of that monstrous voice.

"Zelda. I wish for you to explain whatever they need to know."

The black-clad Zelda swallowed after a moment, but soon, she was looking Link right in the eyes again, and as soon as he saw that, Link was filled with the desire to turn away in disgust.

"So what do you need to know?" she asked, gesturing to the group of figures standing across from them, on the other side of the area, "You're here. You're armed. You're fighting them."

"Who are you?" Link asked, mostly because it was the first thing on his mind.

"I am Zelda." the darkly-dressed woman replied with a deep pride and vanity that was sickening to see, "I am first princess of Hyrule, second in rank, after its ruler. I've been chosen to explain this conflict to you, and introduce you to its rules, and your enemies."

Link didn't buy the idea that that person was Zelda, or that she was the princess of Hyrule, but he could tell that she wasn't about to get any more specific than that for the moment, so he just decided to ask something else.

"Are you asking us to fight each other in a small space like this one," Link asked after a moment, "or will we be using these machines to go to our real battleground?"

"Right." the being that called itself Zelda replied, "Your battlefield will be reached through these teleport devices."

"One more thing." Link continued, still frowning sternly at the creature that was impersonating the hylian princess, "You said that if I'd arrived earlier, I'd know more. Kindly tell me what I would have known, please."

"Zelda" grimaced in embarrassment when Link said that, as if she wanted to kill him, but was too scared to try. In the end, though, she began her explanation instead.

"This is the Conflict of Champions. Sixty-four teams of six enter, and compete in a series of fights to decide who will claim final victory. There are two fight-terms that you might want to learn. The 'team fight' and the 'single fight.' Each team fight is composed of, at most, six single fights. A single fight is when one member of one team fights one member of the other team in a one-on-one conflict. A team fight is composed of six or fewer of those."

"When each team has a full six fighters, six single fights occur, so that each fighter competes in one match. If each team has five fighters left, there would only be five single fights in the team battle, and so on down to one. If the teams are lopsided, the team with fewer members has to decide for themselves who they want to fight in more than one battle, since every team member on the other team must fight at least once. For example, if there were six members on one team, but only four on the other, there would be six fights, and one fighter would have to fight three times, or two would have to fight twice each. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Link simply replied, nodding with a sort of blank expression, "but what determines a victory in a team fight, and how are the fights arranged?"

"It's very simple." the wicked Zelda replied, looking grudgingly at Link the whole time, "Obviously, the winner of a single fight earns a point for his team, but there's one more thing to consider, and that's the circles on either side of the raised platform."

At that, she pointed to two white circles, which seemed to have been painted on the ground; one on each side of the area. One of them contained the fighters who were apparently Link's designated enemies, while the other circle was right behind Link's team. Obviously, however, they had some kind of significance for calculating team points.

"These are your team areas." Zelda explained impatiently, "While the fights are taking place, you must be either in these circles, or on the teleport platform, but no closer to the door. After the last single fight is finished, a ten-minute timer starts. At the end of that time, the number of members on each team that have left this area for their quarters is tallied up, and calculations are made based on that, and on single fight victories. Basically, you can win if all of your members survive, even if you don't win all the single fights, by making it to the exit first, but you have to win at least some of the fights, otherwise, the best you could hope for would be a tie. When a team wins or loses, they're informed of that after the fight. If it's a tie, the last team member to leave the area loses it for his team. If it's still a tie, we may call in some overtime fights to eliminate more fighters, but I have it on very good authority that that won't happen in this conflict. As for the arranging of the team fights, look here..."

As the evil Zelda said that, she pulled a chart out of one of her pockets, which showed a single line on top, which split into two, then four, then eight, each line dividing in two as it went downward, until there were sixty-four. Link could tell what she meant immediately. It was a basic kind of tournament format.

"As you advance through the six rounds of this conflict, if you do, you move on to tougher teams, who've also advanced through as many rounds as you. It's fairly simple to comprehend. A lot of sporting events are more complicated. Now look up."

Quickly, Link did so, and there, he once again saw the electrical ceiling of the area, still pulsing with the energy that made up the strange, magical barrier overhead.

"When you step into our teleporters," the wicked Zelda continued, "You'll be transported to a random place in one of the home-worlds of the teams still remaining in the conflict. That way, as a team progresses forward, the chances of them winding up in their own reality grow greater and greater."

"Giving them a home-team advantage." Link surmised aloud.

"Or perhaps a home-team detriment." the cruel Zelda suggested with an enigmatic glee of some sort, which Link didn't really recognize, "Meanwhile, those people sitting over the electric barrier will be watching the fight, since the 'transparent ceiling' will monitor your battle, and project images of it on both sides. You'll observe the fight of your companions. So will the other team, and the spectators, who you must have noticed on the way in."

Link nodded, and although he was still feeling a little worried by the indistinct kind of threat that still hung over them all, he was also feeling relieved enough to reply to the dark Zelda.

"I think that's about all I need to know. So we just have to win and leave. It sounds simple."

"Simple indeed," the twisted Zelda replied, "but perhaps not so easy. Now, are you ready to begin?"

For a moment, Link looked back at his team. Zelda had begun to shy away when she'd first laid eyes on her doppelganger, but obviously, she'd just changed her mind, and was facing the vision in front of her with courage again, determined not to let herself be bothered by it.

"Give me a moment to discuss this with my team." Link said, turning back towards his friends again, but the moment he was close enough to the others that the slightest whisper could be heard between them, he asked his own Princess Zelda an urgent question.

"What can you tell me about them?"

As Link said that, however, he gestured, not to the dark Zelda, but towards the group at the other end of the room, and surprisingly, there seemed to be only four of them. There was a little boy, dressed in deep purple tights, a tall man wearing black pants and shoes, as well as a red shirt, one average-sized man, who wore only a swimsuit, and whose breath seemed to give off steam of some sort, and a fairly tall woman, who was dressed in gleaming white robes.

Zelda closed her eyes for a moment, clearly trying to read the minds of the other combatants, but at last, she opened her eyes again, and Link could tell immediately that the news she had to give him wasn't good.

"There's something hanging over them that's protecting them from deeper probes, but there are definitely six beings over there." Zelda warned Link quietly, "Perhaps the other two are merely invisible, or very small, but they are there somewhere. I'm having difficulty determining anything else about them except that their whole group seems less desperate about this whole situation, and more annoyed to be here, as though they've just been disappointed for the first time, or don't really understand what's at stake."

"Hmmm..." Link muttered as he scanned their opponents slowly, noticing that the fingers and eyebrows of the other team were slightly longer than hylian ones, and correctly guessing that that was a common trait on their world, but it was difficult to learn anything else about them without some relevant frame of reference.

"It's obvious that the tall one wants to be first." Link observed aloud, "I'll go..."

However, almost at once, Byrna yelled in enthusiasm, "No you won't! He's mine!"

"What?" Link asked, surprised by the sudden outburst, "You want to go first?"

"There's something about that one." Byrna clarified, however, calming down a little once she realized that Link wasn't standing in her way, "I just feel like I should be the one to fight him."

"Suit yourself." Link replied as his armor-wearing friend walked up to one of the teleporters. Given how little they knew about their new opponents, Link decided, Byrna might as well fight first. Without more information, it wouldn't have been possible to develop any better strategies.

"In that case, let the fireworks begin," the cruel-looking Zelda concluded, stepping backwards into the shadows as the first two fighters approached the teleporters in the middle of the central area, "and as I said before, you fight for the fate of your worlds!"

* * *

Mark woke up on the morning after his arrival, to find the sun shining through the window of his new bedroom, and from that position, he could hear the crowing of a rooster as well, something he'd never heard in person before then. He was a little groggy at first, but he'd managed to get plenty of sleep on the night before, and waking up that early gave him all the time he needed to contemplate Ramie's words on the night before.

During the last night, Ramie had told Mark that if he wanted to stay in those rooms for long, she needed to know a few things about him. At the time, Mark had been too tired to even realize what that comment signified, but when he got the chance to think it over, he understood that it must have meant that Ramie was going to let him stay there; at least until he could find some way to get back home. However, Mark had to wonder just what else Ramie was going to want from him in exchange for that small room and the bathroom down the hall.

When he thought about it a little more carefully, Mark had to admit that Ramie's actions had surprised him quite a bit. After all, she'd let him sleep in a room right over her shop, trusting that nobody would gossip about it, or more importantly, that he wouldn't rob her shop when she went home for the night. Still, in some ways, it seemed like Ramie was incredibly naive, because she hadn't even acted as if those risks existed. That kind of trust was priceless, and Mark was very worried about what Ramie was going to demand from him in exchange for it. Still, his problems weren't going to solve themselves, so after a moment, Mark got out of bed, only to discover that the suit he'd put on the end of his bed the evening before had been taken during the night.

For a moment, Mark was close to panicking over that, but once he calmed down, he started to realize that the suit was probably just being washed. After all, it didn't make sense for someone to break into his room, just to steal his clothes.

Swiftly, Mark got up and searched around for something else to wear, finding a odd-looking suit of brown, green and blue clothes in the closet, which Ramie had said was his to use. He put them on, and found, to his astonishment, that although they appeared roughly-woven, they felt like silk when he wore them! He'd never been so comfortable wearing anything before in his life.

The new clothes that Mark had found in his closet hadn't been there the night before, so he supposed that they must have been put there that morning by whoever had taken his old suit. Swiftly, he walked downstairs and left Ramie's shop to look around for her, but she wasn't anywhere nearby. After searching for a couple of minutes, though, Mark was just about to head towards the northern parts of Kakariko Village, near the windmill, when he saw Ramie entering through the village gate from the south, just like he had on the day before. She was wearing the same clothes that she'd had on yesterday, and she wasn't carrying anything in her hands at all, which she seemed to be opening and closing, as though warming them up for a workout. As soon as she saw Mark, however, she rushed over to him with a smile on her face.

"I see you're up." Ramie said the moment she was within earshot of him, "What do you have planned for today?"

"Well, what would you like me to do?" Mark asked politely, almost hoping that she'd be direct and tell him what she wanted in exchange for the room. However, far from being direct, Ramie started frowning when she heard Mark ask that question.

"Lesson number one about Hyrule;" Ramie said firmly, "make decisions for yourself."

"Sorry." Mark stammered, genuinely shocked by Ramie's reaction, "I'm just a little confused. You've given me so much; good food, a place to live, a very comfortable suit of clothes... By the way, do you know what happened to my old clothes?"

"What?" Ramie asked, looking very surprised at being asked about Mark's old suit, "Those old things? They smelled weird, so I threw them away."

"You WHAT?" Mark nearly roared, feeling absolutely infuriated at first, although he swiftly calmed down by reminding himself of everything he was getting from Ramie in exchange. The loss of one suit of clothes wasn't a bad deal, if it was all that he had to lose.

"Sorry." Mark continued a moment later, feeling a little ashamed of himself for shouting at her, and rubbing his eyes a little; trying to clear the cobwebs of the early morning, "I meant to say that you gave me so much, and I'd like to know what you want from me in exchange."

At first, Ramie just looked befuddled, as though someone had asked her very seriously what the sound of one hand clapping was. After a bit, however, she asked, "Why would I want something from you in exchange?"

"Why would you...?" the question hit Mark like a bolt of lightening. What kind of person was Ramie? How could she run a business with an attitude like that? Surely, Mark thought, the other members of her species must have been eating her alive in the business world if she was really as generous as she claimed to be.

"Of course, if you're going to live here, you might want to find something constructive to do." Ramie continued before Mark could even get over his shock, "I've heard that Talon is still looking for someone to take care of his cuccos."

When he heard that, Mark started to calm down. Business was still business, after all, and jobs were something that he understood.

"Fine." Mark replied with a smile, "What does the job pay?"

"Just the usual service wage." Ramie replied with a shrug, "Why does that matter?"

Just like that, Mark found himself back on unexplored ground again, surrounded by mysteries, and not sure which one to start with. In the end, though, he decided to face the most concrete mystery first.

"What's a service wage?"

"Well, look." Ramie began explaining, as though describing simple math to a young child, "There are two types of businesses; sales and services, right?"

"Right."

"So when a person sells goods, they get their rupees from customers, right?"

Supposing that rupees were the currency in Hyrule, Mark just replied "Right."

"Well, people who provide services can't do that, so instead, they meet with employer representatives, arrange a job with one of them, and establish a contract of service. Service wages are always the same, but the service wage contract can be terminated at any time by either party. The current service wage is fifty rupees a week, but it's changed in the past, depending on how many rupees employers can get hold of. There aren't that many employers, though, and most of them live in the castle town. The job of the employer is one of the most necessary ones in Hyrule, because their job is to spend their time gathering rupees, in order to support the people who grow food, weave clothes, draw water and build houses. It's a difficult job, though. The crown is a minor employer too, from time to time."

It sounded like a fairly simple economy to Mark. Citizens spent money on goods, private employers spent it on services. Still, with that kind of system, the taxes must have been enormous, since the employers must have needed to get their money from somewhere, so after a moment, Mark decided to bring that up.

"That sort of system can't make things easy on the taxpayers."

"What's a tax?"

Mark almost fell over when she asked him that question, and for the next several moments, he silently wondered to himself if maybe they called taxes something different in Hyrule. Surely, she must have known what Mark meant. He tried some re-phrasings of the term, but she just commented that she'd never heard of anything like it. When he asked her where employers got all of their rupees, however, her answer at least gave him a little bit of information.

"They find them in all sorts of places," she explained, "in the grass, under rocks, underground... Rupee-finders all receive service wages, just like everyone else."

"But if they find them so easily, couldn't anyone?"

"Sure, but it would be hard work, and it wouldn't be very productive. Most people prefer to do the regular jobs. Most of them are easier, and they leave some extra time for fun."

Just like that, Mark was starting to get a vague picture of what Ramie was talking about. It seemed like the kind of system that might easily be exploited by a dishonest rupee hunter, but Ramie obviously hadn't realized that.

"What if a rupee-finder decides to take the rupees for themselves, instead of returning them?" Mark asked after a moment, determined to understand the weak points in the weird, hylian economy.

"If they take any rupees, then the amount is just taken out of their wages for that day." Ramie replied, "If it's more than fifty, they forfeit the day's wages completely."

"What's so bad about that?" Mark just asked. In his mind, after all, that didn't sound like much of a punishment.

"Well, nothing really." she said in reply, "The thing is, people who do that are seen as being a little odd. There've been a few in the past who've done things that way, but only one was a hylian, and before long, they discover that it's not such a big deal, really."

"Why?" Mark asked, already convinced that he had all the information he needed about the hylian economy, "From the sounds of it, a few weeks of that, and you'd be set for life."

"I'm sorry?" Ramie asked, however, looking confused again, "I beg you're pardon. I'm not familiar with the phrase 'set for life.'"

Once again, Mark was surprised by that, but he started trying to explain himself quickly, saying, "It means you'd never have to worry about food or water, or a place to live until the day you die."

Ramie just looked puzzled again, however, but finally said, "Nobody ever worries about those things, but why would rupees help? You can't eat them, drink them, or live in them."

Mark chuckled, however, saying, "You can use them to buy food, or a house to live in."

Ramie's face fell, however, the moment that Mark said that.

"No you can't." Ramie insisted, looking genuinely shocked by the idea, "Food, clothes and housing aren't purchased with money. They're earned through the hylian service trade. If you have a job in Hyrule, you just talk to the farmers, the weavers, the mages or the carpenters, and ask them whether they need your help. They ask you for a favor or a set of favors, you do the favors for them, and they give you the food, or the clothes, or start work on your house, if you need one. The service trade is just as dependable as the rupee market; more so, in some ways, since it's based on an honor system instead of random factors."

At once, Mark was consumed by even greater curiosity, but Ramie seemed to be tired of answering his "ridiculous questions" and told him that first, he should spend some time talking to people in town about potential jobs. Mark was still very confused, and more than a little worried, but there was no denying that a job was the first step to getting along with those people better, and the first step to understanding their strange, alien way of life.


	11. Pt2 Ch3 The First Team Battle

Chapter 3: The First Team Battle

* * *

Soon, Byrna found herself standing on the platform in the center of the conflict area, facing the tall man in front of her, and looking him straight in the eye. However, she felt strange, because although she'd volunteered for that battle, she didn't really want to fight him.

"I hope you know it's not personal." Byrna said after only a moment, but the man nodded quickly in response.

"We all realize that." he said sadly, "It's the same on both sides in that respect. All I really want is to get back to what I was doing before this business began."

With that, Byrna entered one of the teleporters, and the tall man stepped into the other. Then, both disappeared from that world, and were transported somewhere else.

* * *

Byrna looked around in surprise, as she was deposited in her new battleground. She'd expected to be facing her enemy almost at once, but no matter where she looked, he was nowhere to be seen. What she did see was a jungle all around her, full of green foliage, and the cries of birds. The smell of smoke nearby indicated that there was civilization in that place as well, although Byrna couldn't see any signs of tall castles or small houses in that jungle area. At once, Byrna put on her goggles, and started looking around more carefully. With her goggles on, Byrna found that she could see a small series of tents and log cabins to her left, arranged around what looked like a beach. Byrna couldn't tell if her enemy was nearby or not, but he had to be around somewhere, and if she didn't find him first...

Suddenly, a log came crashing down near Byrna's legs, and she spun around, to find another large piece of wood headed in her direction. Swiftly, she fired with the gun attached to her left hand, splitting the wood down the middle, but it seemed to change course in mid-air at that point, colliding with the side of her head, and knocking her to the ground in horrible pain.

As she lay there, however, Byrna heard a voice, and she could see that the leaves on the ground in front of her were depressed in two places, as if something was there; something that she couldn't see.

"Are you having a tough time finding me?" the voice asked in some amusement, and that was the moment when Byrna realized what had really happened. Her enemy had become invisible somehow.

"This rainforest contains some very rare chemicals." the voice said, changing topics quickly in genuine curiosity, "I'll bet if I were to use the resources here, I could come up with a hundred things more impressive than invisibility."

Suddenly, Byrna felt something hard collide with her chin, knocking her back along the ground again, though she started trying to get her footing back a moment later, still aching from the attacks.

"At this rate, though," Byrna heard her opponent say in frustration, "it might take forever to defeat you, so I have another idea."

Swiftly, Byrna got to her feet and looked around. Her enemy had to be around somewhere, even if she couldn't see him with her eyes. Finally, in one lucky moment, she was able to spot the impressions of his feet in the leaves, and started firing her weapons as fast as she could. She heard him yell, as a few small red spots fell to the ground nearby, but she could tell that she hadn't given him a very serious wound, and as she rushed forward, to try to finish him off, she could see that he wasn't in the same spot anymore. Byrna could hear him dashing off to one side nearby, but she knew that she couldn't track him by noise alone; at least not well enough to fight him effectively.

Swiftly, she placed her hand in the top of the metal pack she was wearing, and spoke the word "seek." At once, the view on her goggles changed. Byrna had built her goggles specifically to track hard-to-find life-forms, and in that case, she'd set them to show her anything with enough life-energy as a blue, nebulous shape. In short, if it was alive and active, she could probably spot it.

Byrna tried to scan the surrounding jungle in the hopes of tracking down her enemy, but apparently, her opponent had gotten behind some trees. Suddenly, though, she heard a noise; like the cork being pulled from a bottle, and in seconds, the very forest around her seemed to come to life, and start moving around on its own. It was only then that Byrna realized that she had much more immediate problems than locating her enemy.

The trees swayed as though they were caught in a terrible wind, changing the shape of their branches and trunks, as they lashed out at Byrna. The champion from Hyrule tried to fight back with the guns attached to her wrists, but although she was making holes in the surrounding foliage, they weren't very big holes, and they were sealing themselves back up again almost at once. Eventually, one vine grabbed Byrna by the arm, and lifted her into the air. She could feel wooden tree limbs colliding with her repeatedly, and those blows hurt a lot, but not nearly as much as they would have without her armor. Still, she had to stop that onslaught somehow, and she only knew of one way.

Carefully, Byrna twisted her left arm in a very precise way, and at once, the nozzle of her gun flipped around, and a blast of flame erupted from her weapon, incinerating the tree limbs that surrounded her in an instant.

In that first moment, Byrna had only thought about how to get free of the rampaging jungle, but seeing the blaze that she'd started, as it began to spread out from the first tree, and towards the others in the area, she realized in dismay that the fire was going to do a lot of damage to that jungle, and there wasn't much that she could have done to stop it. The thought made her feel pretty rotten, but as the blaze surrounded her, Byrna quickly realized that in the middle of a fight like that, she couldn't afford to worry about the damage that she and her foe were doing. All that really mattered was winning that fight.

In that respect, the fire was doing more good than harm, because Byrna could see her enemy's outline in the thick smoke, and he was rushing towards the beach as fast as he could, with drops of liquid appearing on the ground behind him; a kind of clear liquid, like water, although as soon as she saw it, Byrna started to realize just how that man had stumbled across such fascinating powers.

Swiftly, Byrna leapt out of the flaming forest as fast as she could, and began to dash across the beach, shouting aloud to her enemy, whose footprints she could already see in the wet sand in front of her.

"I know the secret of your power!"

Byrna's enemy had just kept running while she'd shouted to him, but soon, his feet had ended up in the water, and she watched in amazement as they slowly started to become visible again. That only validated her in the conclusions she'd drawn, however. Obviously, the source of his power was...

"Chemistry!" she yelled across the beach, cautiously taking another step closer to her opponent, who was standing perfectly still in the shallow water, "I never paid much attention to it before, but obviously, chemistry can do a lot of things I've never considered before."

"In my whole world, nobody knows more about chemicals than I do." she heard him yell back, "You've seen only a tiny portion of what I can do with them."

"For example," the chemist continued, holding up a small bottle, with a blue liquid inside of it, "this chemical causes water to absorb nearby air, and increase its total volume for about five minutes, just like another one of my chemicals made those plants back there misbehave, and the one you're currently standing in..."

As the chemist said that, however, Byrna realized in dismay that she was indeed standing where he'd dropped the bits of liquid on the beach, and she was beginning to feel as though the machine on her back was getting heavier and heavier.

"...increases the effects of gravity on whoever or whatever gets it underneath them." the chemist replied with a confident grin, "I've used it to crush rocks and stone walls in the past, and I'm sure it can crush you, but just in case..."

With those words, he dropped the bottle that he'd been holding into the ocean, and smiled as the water level began to rise all around him.

"I can swim if it comes to that." the man said in an uncaring tone of voice, "but you, with your heavy metal armor, and more to the point, with my chemical weighing you down... Well, I suppose you'll probably drown in less than three minutes. Good luck, though."

Byrna felt the crushing pressure coming down on her back all at once, as her enemy fell silent, and the water rose up the shore towards her. Her armor was powerful, but it was having difficulty withstanding that incredible assault. She needed some way of defeating the chemist quickly, so that he couldn't use any more of his concoctions on her, but without being able to lift her arms, much less fire her weapons anymore, Byrna couldn't think of any way to escape, much less stop him. She knew that she had to think quickly, though, if she wanted to survive.

Suddenly, something happened to Byrna that she couldn't explain, however. She felt, in a moment, like she was looking all around herself at once; at the waves, at her enemy, who was swiftly turning visible, thanks to the water washing away his invisibility potion, at the flaming forest behind her, and at every function of her armor, which she'd once thought was powerful enough to vanquish any foe, and as she took it all in, the time came for action, because she realized what she had to do, in order to make it out of that fight alive, and it wasn't going to be easy.

Already on her hands and knees, Byrna twisted her arms around, and blasts of flame erupted downward from them, hotter and faster than any she'd ever had a reason to produce. They fired down with enormous force, like an explosion of power, causing her to be vaulted into the air by their strength; like a large bullet herself, and she could see the shocked expression on the chemist's face in that one, last moment before her head hit his chin with the force of a war hammer.

Both fighters plummeted backwards into the water at once, and as Byrna plunged downward into it, she could feel the weight of her armor lessening, as though the chemical that that man had used against her was being washed away. As fast as she could, Byrna got to her feet, and rushed back to shore, only to find, however, that the chemist was already standing there, with two more bottles in his hands. One seemed to be filled with a red liquid, and the other was full of a powder, which was a greyish-white color. Byrna felt terrible dread filling her when she saw that, however. She'd hurt her enemy, but she hadn't been fast enough to finish him off, and suddenly, he was armed again, and ready to go on the attack.

"You're a worthy opponent," the chemist said angrily, glaring at Byrna hard, "and your intuition is excellent, but you have to know when you're outclassed. The chemical compound in my left hand is a concoction I made myself, for releasing the hidden potential of any living organism. It only lasts for a few minutes, and I'm afraid it sometimes makes its drinker quite violent. As for the powder, it's nothing more than a pure element, which I myself collected; magnesium."

Byrna wasn't a chemical expert, but she knew what magnesium was. That element, in its pure form, almost invariably burst into flame upon making contact with open air. It sometimes required a bit of coaxing, but the sand below them had been sitting in the sun for so long, that Byrna knew that another fire was inevitable, if he uncorked that bottle.

"Before I kill you, though," the chemist continued firmly, "I think you've earned the right to know my name. I'm Dirk Porre."

"I'm Byrna." she replied, though she didn't drop her guard for even a second in the face of that unorthodox introduction.

"Alright, then." Dirk said, and with that, he downed the red potion, and spread the powder out in front of him on the sand, where it burst into flames almost as soon as it left the bottle, making it seem, in an instant, as though the beach itself was on fire.

Beyond the high, white flames of the magnesium, a terrible transformation was taking place, however. Dirk's muscles, hands, feet and shoulders seemed to grow to nearly twice their natural size in moments, and Byrna could see a look of fury descend over his face; even worse than the one he'd been wearing before. It only took her a moment, however, to realize that that grotesque transformation was the intended result of his greatest potion, but Byrna knew that the longer the fight continued for, the more of an advantage Dirk was going to have. She'd barely been clinging to life, and fighting defensively for most of the battle, and he kept finding new ways to trump her. If Byrna was going to win that fight, she knew that she had to move quickly.

Once again, flame came from Byrna's arm guns, and she shot through the air like a hylian bullet, over the flames, towards her foe, but at the last second, the huge creature that Dirk had become grabbed her out of the air with one hand, and punched her hard with the other, knocking her backwards, and denting the front of her armor. Then, before she had time to plan a counter-move of any sort, that horrible, inhuman behemoth came leaping at her over the flames, and struck out with an arm that measured almost three feet long! Given how badly the monster's first attack had damaged her armor, it was all she could do to roll out of the way of that second one.

Byrna could feel her stomach aching from the inside, as though something sharp was trying to pierce it, but she knew that she had to ignore the pain if she wanted to live. She got to her feet as swiftly as possible, and began to rush back towards the forest as fast as she could, having come up with another idea. There, she could see that her enemy was leaping after her in enormous, bounding strides. The hylian champion fired backwards at him for a moment, but the bullets never got past the beast's first layer of skin, and before long, he was between her and the smoking forest; a move that made her wince for a moment in frustration. She'd had a good idea for stopping him, but it wasn't going to work unless she could get out of his reach somehow.

With only a moment to think her next move over, Byrna took flight again, by aiming both hands downward, that time flying directly up, so that she could see him staring angrily at her, as he reached behind himself, grabbing a tree right out of the ground with his monstrous strength, and using it to swing at her in mid-air. She responded to that attack with another blast of flame, setting the entire tree ablaze, and forcing the beast to drop the flaming tree, and wade into the jungle foliage in search of another.

As soon as Byrna saw that, she changed direction in mid-air, and plummeted towards Dirk again. As he reached for another tree, she collided with his back, knocking him over; into the underbrush, and denting one of her armor's shoulders on his inhumanly-tough flesh. Slowly, she started trying to get out of the forest herself after that, but her foe was very quick, and soon, he'd grabbed her from behind, and held her in one powerful fist by the back of her armored torso. As Byrna felt her enemy's fist starting to close around her, however, and the life slowly draining out of her, she noticed something else. The vines and branches of the plants around them were starting to wrap themselves around Dirk's body.

As soon as Dirk saw what was happening, his grip began to loosen, until he eventually let go entirely, and Byrna fell to the ground, and began to crawl forward, since it was only a few feet to the boundaries of the forest. However, Dirk's power had been so vastly increased, that he threw the renegade plants in all directions in a rage, and started after Byrna again. He'd barely gone a few feet, when the vines redoubled their efforts, however, and Byrna had reached the edge of the forest by that point. The vines and branches of the forest followed Byrna too, as she scrambled to her feet, leapt over the flaming beach, and watched as the vines burst into flames, igniting that entire section of the forest, with Dirk still inside.

It was quite some time before the magnesium jungle fire began to die down, but when it finally did, Dirk was there, in the midst of the ashes; back to his original size, and lying, covered in burns, on the ground. As near as Byrna could tell from looking at him, he was still alive, but the victory was hers.

* * *

Moments later, Byrna and the charred chemist re-appeared on the platforms in the center of the teleport area, each pretty beat-up, but each destined to survive for the time being. Without any hesitation at all, Link helped Byrna to the floor near the rest of their team, speaking what he hoped were reassuring words to her.

"Relax. I'll take care of the next one."

Moments later, true to his word, Link was stepping up to the teleporters in the center of the arena, but he could see that the opposing team was feeling pretty disconcerted by Dirk's defeat. Link would have expected them to start taking the hylian team seriously by that point, and because of that, he felt pretty chagrined when he got to the teleporters, and found that his opponent was the little boy dressed in the purple.

"Hi!" the boy said with a bright, sunny smile, "I'm Mikey! Nice to meet ya!"

"I'm Link." The Hero of Time said to the smiling boy, without coming even close to smiling back, "Look Mikey. Do you have any idea what you're being asked to do?"

"You bet!" the little boy said, as though accepting an invitation to play tag, "I'm gonna beat you inta the ground, and everybody'll watch."

"And you don't see any problem with that?" Link asked curiously, suddenly feeling very worried. Given the kid's jovial attitude and small size, he didn't seem to understand the danger he was putting himself in by fighting somebody like Link. However, the boy's reply was about the last thing that Link had wanted to hear.

"Not really." Mikey said, putting both hands up in the air and stretching, "It's not like you'd be the first person I've pounded into the dirt, and I just wanna get back home and play anyways, so this is the quickest way, right?"

"Apparently, it's the only sure way." Link replied flatly, though he wasn't feeling any better about having to fight such a young boy, "I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting yourself into."

So, casting a glance back at his companions, as if to say "please let this cup pass from me," Link stepped onto one teleporter, and Mikey onto the other, and in moments, they were both gone.

* * *

When Link reappeared, he was in for a bit of a shock. It was raining in the world he'd found himself in, and muddy under his boots. For miles as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but one enormous plane with small tufts of grass, which were apparently enjoying the summer shower more than he was. Link caught a glimpse of some small tents made of straw nearby, but he could tell that Mikey wasn't one of the people who usually lived there. However, in the rain, Link had a difficult time determining the location of his enemy until Mikey was practically on top of him.

Like an owl on a vole, Mikey descended on Link from the sky, flying through the air and colliding with him hard! Link managed to duck to one side, so he only recieved a glancing blow from his enemy, but even that glancing blow was so powerful, that Link was knocked on his back, and blood dripped down his lip in moments. It was obvious that not only could that child fly, but his strength was of a superhuman level; perhaps even great enough to have overcome the likes of Raid. Link didn't know what other kinds of powers he might have. He'd obviously underestimated the boy, but since he knew some of the child's abilities, he was ready to begin preparing for Mikey's next attack.

Soon, there was a red flash in the clouds, then moments later, another, and the boy dove from the clouds above, towards Link with both fists outstretched, and a delighted smile on his face.

As fast as he could, Link responded, ducking to one side at the last minute, and aiming a kick at Mikey's chest, but the kick didn't seem to have done any noticeable damage. In fact, the moment that Link's kick made contact with his enemy's body, a horrible pain cut through his foot, and into his leg. Soon, Mikey vanished into the clouds again in another red flash, and Link collapsed to the ground with three busted toes.

"Blast!" Link thought to himself, more frustrated with himself than with his enemy, "I should have suspected that someone with strength like that would have pretty tough skin too."

Still, Link was used to ignoring pain in the middle of a fight, so swiftly, he was on his feet again, searching around for the second red flash that would herald the return of his enemy.

When Mikey plunged down out of the clouds again, Link sensed him at once, and let fly with one powerful punch, directly into the boy's face.

Link's golden gauntlets had, in the past, given him almost immeasurable strength, so he'd decided to pit that strength against the endurance of that little boy. Link's arms were longer than Mikey's, though, and because of that, Mikey got the full impact of his opponent's punch, while Mikey's fists didn't connect at all. He was, instead, knocked from the air by the titanic blow, and collapsed to the ground, where he sat for a moment, rubbing his cheek, before a truly nasty look appeared in his eyes.

"Okay." the young boy exclaimed, "You asked for it!"

As Mikey said that, he drew a fairly large sword from behind his back, and in response, Link drew his own sword and shield, preparing for his enemy's next attack. Quickly, the two were fighting as best they could, each wielding invulnerable blades; backed up by superhuman strength, and each with an advantage. Link's advantage was his ability to use his shield and sheath to block attacks midway through his own jabs and swings. Mikey's was his power of flight. Both had mastered similar sword techniques, but Link had more combat experience than any child could ever have obtained, and in time, was able to catch Mikey off-guard again, by elbowing him in the face with the blunt end of his mirror shield. He then grabbed Mikey by the ankles, and threw him clear across the field, dashing after him as he went; finally ready to take the young boy seriously as a fighter.

Mikey, however, was beginning to lose his composure by that point in the battle. His jolly, childish demeanor was fading away into a sort of timid look, as though he was beginning to feel fear for the first time during that battle. However it wasn't Link he was afraid of. The Hero of Time could tell that much. As Mikey landed hard on the ground and hit his head on a rock, it was knocked aside by the impact, and after a moment, he started to look dazed. Mikey was obviously too tough to be hurt by a simple crash landing like that, but Link could see that there was something very wrong with him. It looked as if Mikey had been fighting for self-control that whole time, and was just starting to lose that fight, but Link had no way of knowing what form that loss would take.

As Link approached the young boy who lay on the ground, facing the small rock that had recently been knocked aside by his impact with it, he'd started to worry again. The boy didn't seem to be moving; he was just staring at a small hole that had been under the rock, as if he was more captivated by the contents of that hole than by the fight he'd just been involved in moments before. From the look on the boy's face, however, Link was starting to see that Mikey wasn't fascinated by the contents of that hole in the ground, so much as terrified. On the one hand, Link knew that if he struck then, he could finish the fight, but as he approached the boy, he also glanced towards the hole in the ground himself, and at once, a voice seemed to emerge from it, and force itself into his mind.

"Come to my land, Link. Come with me, and I'll show you wonders like nothing you've ever seen!"

Once those words had shot through his head, Link felt some horrible force, tinted only slightly with the silver lining of a child's innocence, wrapping itself around his mind and after that, he only saw horror. In just a moment, Link was nearly consumed by sounds, feelings and sights so grotesque and horrible, that they would have driven most souls to the breaking point. It was madness of the worst kind, and not even during Zelda's attack on his mind had Link felt so helpless. For a time, he imagined himself dashing madly through multicolored roads, searching for a way out, and finding only chaos and insanity wherever he went. A force had been unleashed in Link's mind that was so horrible, that he couldn't help but scream aloud!

For a moment, that scream gave Link a glimpse of what was real, overlayed on the illusions. He could see the boy lying on his back on the ground, convulsing with psychic power, probably experiencing the same thing that Link was, but Link could tell that he was the cause of it, because of all the psychic energy pouring out of him and into the Hero of Time. That boy probably hadn't even intended to use that power, because he certainly couldn't control it. Still, Link had to break free if he was going to claim victory in his fight, and the only way to do that seemed to be through Mikey's power. However, Link wondered how he could he be victorious, knowing that madness was threatening both he and his enemy?

"It's..." he heard Mikey cry out into the screaming madness, "It's another world; insanity and chaos. It's... It's at this conflict!"

Link screamed again for a moment involuntarily, and fell to his knees as another wave of psychic chaos washed over him. Some strange psychic presence obviously inhabited the body of that super-powered young boy, and it seemed to have knowledge of times of horror and chaos in another world, which it wanted to share with him, but both he and Link were so used to their own lifestyles, that it was nearly driving them mad, even to hear about it in the abstract. Link understood at once what was happening, but he couldn't think of any way to really stop it.

"The mirror world... has to stop!" the child gasped in desperation, "I can't take it anymore!"

However, the moment that the boy said that, an idea occurred to Link; something he'd never considered before.

"Mirror world?" Link thought silently to himself, "It must be a metaphor for another world that's opposite to his, but then again... These illusions feel more real than any passing thought. When he's in a fit like this, does he really travel to another world, or is that the reason why he's in pain? Is something trying to pull him into another world, and we're in pain because we can't pass through? How could we fix that? How could we travel to that world? What do they want from him? There must be some reason they want someone as powerful as him to come to their world. As much as they're suffering, it couldn't just be malice. If they're really hurting this badly; if the people in this other world really are living in that much chaos, they must be looking for a hero. That has to be the answer; they need Mikey to be their hero, and he has to face this. He has the power to help them, if he'll just face his own suffering."

As soon as the idea had entered Link's head, he was sure that it was correct, and just like that, a fresh plan had formed in his mind. Pushing past the psychic emanations and illusions, Link struggled to discern the real from the artificial. At last, he looked down, and saw his own body, with both his sword and shield in his hands. That was when he knew that he was seeing reality, at least for the time being. Swiftly, Link put his sword away, and gripping his shield in both hands, held it in front of Mikey's face, which was still twisted into a horrible contortion of terror, as the little boy kept both eyes tightly shut.

"Look!" Link yelled, "Mikey, look! Take a good look at the place you're being tortured by!"

"No!" Mikey yelled back, "It's too painful; too horrible! I can't watch!"

"Pain and horror are part of life!" Link exclaimed over the sounds of the psychic whirlwind of agony that surrounded the two of them, choking out the words of wisdom as best he could, "Everyone has problems, but as long as you run from them, they'll only get worse and worse! You have to stare your fears in the face if you ever want them to stop!"

It was clear that Mikey had never been told that before. All his life, in fact, seemed to have been spent in accumulating personal pleasure, and no one in his world, apparently, had seen any problem with that. However, that instant, things were different. He had a problem that no one but he could solve, and he could only do something about it if he was willing to drive away from pleasure, and into pain; something which, apparently, very few of his people ever did.

However, Mikey was still a champion of his people. He could handle the task he'd been given. He could look up, and see the nature of his pain, to save the people who needed help. That was what a champion was.

In that one moment of confidence and courage; unrivaled by anyone in his entire world, the young boy named Mikey opened his eyes. Link, in turn, looked away, as a blinding light spread out across the plains, engulfing everything.

* * *

It took some time before Link was willing to open his own eyes again, but when he did, he found himself in a very strange-looking room, with bizarre, alien furniture, and doorways of some very unusual sizes and shapes on the far side. He could see several animals standing on their hind legs on the opposite side of the room as well, and in the center was Mikey; the boy who was going to be their savior.

"You're a genius." Mikey said to Link with a broad smile again, "I don't know how you figured out so much about me. Since I was really young, I've had these psychic visions, and as I got older, they got worse and worse, and I started to project them on anyone nearby; not on purpose, though. One of my teachers died of fright when she fell into them. That was when I started trying to ignore them, because it wasn't any fun. Of course, people in my world just do whatever feels good, so nobody ever taught me how to face my problems, except you."

"I'm sorry we had to fight." Link replied after spending a couple of seconds in stunned silence, "I wish I could have taken you to Hyrule, to learn more of our morals and proverbs."

"Me too," Mikey said with a grin, "but these guys called me here for a reason. The animals behind me are the people who live in this world. It's a world that's really far away from any of the others; even mine, and their world was so chaotic, they couldn't live in peace. They needed someone to fix things for them, so they called out with their minds to me."

"And you answered that call." Link finished, smiling happily, "Not at first, maybe, because you knew that trying to help the people of an alien world would be painful, but now you know that you can't ignore this. It's your calling."

"They say everybody here is a champion," Mikey remarked in amazement, "but you'll always be my hero. Just remember; when you get your wish... I want you to make sure that my world survives."

"I promise." Link replied with a solemn nod. Then, the light in the area grew unnaturally bright again, and as he felt himself being whisked back to the conflict area, Link heard two more words, which seemed to have been spoken to him from the midst of the light itself.

"Thank you."

* * *

In seconds, Link had appeared mere inches from the rest of his team in a blinding flash, although in spite of the bright light that had surrounded him a moment before, they could all see that he was still very upset by what he'd just seen and done. The evil Zelda declared, for a moment, that there would be a short debate as to who'd really won the fight, but Link knew that it would eventually be declared a draw, since neither of them had really been hurt. What concerned him, though, was that before fighting with Mikey, he could have fooled himself into thinking that their opponents were just fabrications or illusions of some kind, but he couldn't do that anymore. Link knew for certain that they were all real, and all just as worried about their worlds as he was about his.

"We have to get that wish." Link told his team shortly, just after having rejoined them, "We're not just fighting for the fate of one world, but five thousand, full of people with histories, dreams and desires for their future. We can't afford to fail."

* * *

Mark had originally intended to help Talon with his cuccos, but when he'd found out that they could, at times, be deadly, he decided that it would be better if he were to work in an area like farming or book-minding; librarian duties at the castle; something he already had a significant talent for, and which was relatively safe.

It took him several hours before he'd decided which of those jobs he wanted to do, but it didn't take very long for it to be arranged, once he met with a hylian employer in charge of Kakariko service management. Mark's job was to manage a small farmland area in the hills near Kakariko. His tasks were simple enough, of course; plant seeds, bring water to them from the river, and keep the dirt and plants well-arranged. It would also be his job to harvest the fruits and vegetables from the farm when the time came, but in the meantime, he only had to be in the area to make sure that wild animals didn't get at the food. As a result, Mark was entirely at liberty to chat with any of the hylians who happened to walk by the hillside farm, and he always had amazing stories to tell about himself, his world, and its history.

As something of a history student, Mark was in a position to tell those people all about the cultures of the ancient Egyptians, the Sumerians and Mesopotamians in the cradle of civilization, the Greeks and Romans, and the fall of the Roman Empire, the grand escapades of the feudal lords during the first millennium, and their many knights. He told people about the legends of King Arthur, and the quest of him and his teacher Merlin to bring peace and justice to the people. He told them about the voyages and mistakes of Christopher Columbus, of the formation of America, and how it had declared its independence. He told them about Abraham Lincoln; America's greatest president, who abolished the practice of slavery, and did what was right for the people of his nation. He told them about the two World Wars, and the wars that had happened since then; how the people of Earth had quickly learned more, and the information age had begun. He told them about how the space program was started, and what the governments of the Earth were doing to help the homeless and poverty-stricken in their own countries.

Mark told all of those stories to the people of Hyrule, and he told them with great pride. His eyes would often seem to glaze over when he was speaking about skyscrapers, television, or cellular phones, and most of all, he'd stress the absolute dominance of efficiency in his culture, and of the many things that people had done to make their lives more productive.

On his first day as a farmer, both children and adults listened to Mark's tales all morning with rapt attention.

* * *

"The next one is my fight." Ruto said grimly, noticing that Link was out of breath from his own struggle. She stepped up to the teleporters, and there, she saw that on the other team, one of the fighters was approaching, though he looked very grave indeed; they both did. The champions on the other team must have thought that they could still claim victory, but it was obvious that neither was optimistic after those first two failures against the hylian team.

The fighter who approached Ruto from the opposing side was the one dressed in the swimsuit, with the smoking breath. He only said one thing, however, as he and Ruto stepped onto the platforms opposite one another.

"I'm Jack. You?"

"Ruto." she said, simplifying her formerly-lengthy royal title a bit coldly.

Jack didn't reply to her, though, but instead, he stepped into the teleporter in front of him. She stepped into hers, though she was chagrined by what she'd perceived as rudeness on his part. Still, one of them would have to immobilize the other fairly soon. That was far from the most civilized situation that she could imagine.

* * *

In moments, Ruto found herself on a rocky island with a wooden sailing ship, which seemed almost to be built directly through the heart of the rock. Beyond the ship, she could see an ocean that stretched on for miles in every direction, and for a moment, she lost herself in the vastness of the living water. Forgetting for the moment about her opponent, Ruto leapt from the rocky land mass, and into the ocean.

Ruto's life had largely been sheltered and even, some might say, confined. She had, as a child, never really journeyed out of the Zora's Domain, and even as an adult, she'd never entered a body of water any larger than Lake Hylia, but once inside that huge ocean, she could tell that living her life in such a small environment had been a mistake. The water extended for meters below her as she swam, and yet, every square yard of it seemed to teem with life and love, like nothing she'd ever experienced before. That ocean was stretching on and on in all directions, and the feeling of absolute freedom was incredible. She swam this way and that, faster than any shark, for minutes that felt like hours, because they were so full of joy and freedom. For a while, Ruto wondered if she could ever go back to the small-lake swimming she'd done in the past, as the fish brushed by her arms and legs. She didn't ever want it to end.

Suddenly, however, in the midst of all that joy, Ruto saw a flickering blue light pass by overhead, and had only a second to react, before a chunk of ice the size of her room in the Zora's Domain came crashing down on top of her from above. Reacting as fast as she could, Ruto took the initial impact with her feet, before twisting around, and shattering the ice to pieces with a single, mighty punch. Of course, that attack hadn't really hurt her, but it had jarred her back out of the euphoria she'd just been feeling, and reminded her of why she was really there. Ruto had a job to do, and a very dangerous enemy to defeat.

Quickly, Ruto swam directly up as fast as she could, and vaulted out of the ocean's surface in a wet spray, then looked around for her foe. She didn't have far to look, though. He was flying around above the ocean's surface, not more than a few yards away; a glowing blue aura surrounding him, and he spun around to look at her the moment she'd emerged from the water.

Ruto could see that Jack was changing the shape of his aura with every second, so that it branched out over the area that they'd appeared in, and shards of ice began to fall from the sky before Ruto hit the water again. Obviously, Ruto realized, the aura around Jack had only one purpose; to create ice, and freeze water solid in any area that he wanted.

As soon as Ruto splashed back into the ocean, she was followed by a rain of icicles from the sky, which began to chip away at her scaly hide the moment they hit. That hurt, but the wounds that Ruto was receiving were mostly negligible. Still, she knew that she couldn't withstand that assault forever, and having only a few seconds to plan out a course of action, she dove further underwater with all the speed she could manage.

At five meters below the surface of the water, the icicles began to slow down, and at seven, they started to melt, blunting their edges, but Ruto could tell that her enemy wasn't going to stop with an attack like that. Indeed, she was absolutely right, because no more than thirty seconds after the icicle rain started melting, a wall of ice that looked like the bottom of an iceberg descended on Ruto from above, which seemed to continue on in all four directions, as far as she could see.

At once, Ruto began to attack the iceberg with her fists, putting deep cracks into its base with her well-hydrated muscles, but she didn't seem to be making much headway against the huge mountain of ice, and it was bearing down on her faster and faster. However, soon, she heard a horrifying lurching and cracking sound from overhead, and as she looked up, she could see that the entire iceberg was quivering, and that the large hole she'd made in its base was shaking more than any other part of it.

She had some idea of what was going on then, however. Swiftly, Ruto reached both hands up, grabbing onto the painfully-cold ice, and all at once, the ice seemed to move off to the side, faster than anything that Ruto had ever seen or felt, and she felt the water's surface pass her by as the ice scooped her up in the huge, spoon-shaped crater she'd made in it.

Somehow, Ruto later realized, she must have destroyed enough of the iceberg's lower mass, that its balance in the water had reversed, flipping it over, and her with it. Once she was on the surface of the water again, though, standing on top of the iceberg, Ruto looked quickly around for her foe, despite the intense pain in both her hands and feet from the cold ice underneath her. There, she saw her enemy, sitting in mid-air, apparently expecting her to pass out at any moment from the pain, but he was very wrong about that.

Bracing both feet against the ice, Ruto crossed her arms in front of her face, then shoved them out to the sides, causing the fins on the sides of her arms to detach, and go flying through the air towards her enemy like sharp-edged boomerangs.

Although razor-sharp objects were headed his way with incredible speed, however, Jack didn't look the least bit worried, and it soon became obvious why. Ruto hadn't been able to tell because of his aura, but Jack had apparently assumed an ethereal form. As Ruto's fins passed directly through him, doing no damage at all, each was frozen solid, and when they re-connected to her arms, their ice started to spread down her hands, and up towards her shoulders.

She fell to the surface of the iceberg in horrible agony for a moment, to say nothing of the terror that she was starting to feel as well. Things were definitely getting bad, in spite of the powers she'd discovered during her exile. Not only could Jack create ice with his aura, but he was completely untouchable, and he apparently had the ability to reshape existing ice, and even cause it to grow. As the icy pain in Ruto's arms increased second-by-second, her vision began to blur...

Ruto found herself falling into darkness. In the past, she might have been protected by the authority of her father, or simply smashed the source of her pain, or maybe she would have been defended by some well-meaning soul, but that was one of the few times since her early childhood when she'd been forced into an unfair situation, in which she was totally outclassed, and unable to use her authority to get out of it. She couldn't run to anyone but herself, and she couldn't cry, because her eyes wouldn't respond. She might otherwise have screamed at the world, raging at the unfairness of it all, then shut down in the face of odds that she thought were unfair, and indeed, for a few moments, it was her instinct to do just that, but in that moment, something else was there, on top of her old instincts. Words, like echoes of her recent past haunted her memories, and resurfaced just then, when she knew that she was losing that fight.

"If you're not contented, just do something about it."

"You have to do the right thing now, even if you didn't always when you were younger."

"You were lazy, arrogant, self-righteous, childish, and at the same time, you took yourself much too seriously. You were so concerned with how you appeared to other people, that there was no room for anything else. Every moment you spent trying to win me over was painful for me, and I've gone through worse pains since then, but I always kept going. I never made excuses for myself as to why I couldn't continue. I did what needed to be done. That's the biggest reason we don't belong together, Ruto. I buckle down and get the job done, but no matter who you were, or what kind of power you had, you were always a whiner."

"No!" Ruto cried out in determination into her own thoughts, "I won't! I won't be a whiner anymore! I'm through crying! I don't care how invulnerable this guy is, or how much pain I'm in, or how much power he has! I'm not going to lose!"

The scream that echoed through her head at once escaped her mouth in a whimper, then a cry, then a shout of defiance, as the zora champion smashed both arms against the ground.

Ice and shattered scales flew in all directions, as Ruto's arms were torn up by the impact of the shattering ice, but her determination to win had grown much stronger than that sort of pain a few moments before. In an instant, Ruto had rolled off to one side, and leapt directly at her enemy, both arms outstretched in rage. Suddenly, however, when she was only about halfway towards him, his aura changed shape and enveloped her, covering her in a jagged ice crystal, which increased the weight of her environment, causing her to fall downward at an angle, instead of continuing up towards her foe.

Summoning up her massive willpower again, however, Ruto shattered the ice with a single motion of her muscles, and most of her scales were torn up as well, in the process, forcing her through virtually unimaginable pain once more. However, she was still determined to win, and still thinking carefully about how to claim victory. Obviously, her enemy had seen her, even though he hadn't looked at her.

Maybe, she thought, he had some kind of power, which alerted him to nearby attackers. Maybe he could see out of any piece of ice, like an extra eye. Maybe it didn't matter! Ruto reached both hands downward, yanking a large chunk of ice out of the ground, and hurling it through the air towards her enemy, who, to her surprise, ducked underneath it, as if, for a moment, he was afraid of being hit by that chunk of frozen water.

Ruto could barely believe what she was seeing, so she looked at Jack much more closely, and in that moment, she could almost swear that he was chanting to himself somehow. Just as Ruto kept telling herself that she had to win, and put her victory in that competition first, Jack seemed to be reciting the exact same thing, but he wasn't injured at all, and it didn't really seem like he was in any danger of losing. Something else seemed to be influencing his behavior, though; some inner conflict that was wearing on his self-control, even in the midst of a fight for his very life.

Dashing back and forth, to avoid the ice formations that were trying to creep up and swallow her feet, Ruto continued to throw chunks of ice at her enemy, who, for a while, kept dodging them, but once it became apparent that he couldn't change the direction of the ice chunks in mid-air with his powers, Ruto was sure that she'd found Jack's weakness, in spite of her own injuries, and she had every intention of exploiting it.

Summoning up every ounce of strength left in her battle-worn body, Ruto reached down, and yanked up a chunk of ice the size of most boulders, but instead of throwing it, she just dropped it next to her, got behind it, and punched it with all her might, shattering the entire boulder on impact. Shards of ice flew in all directions, impossible for someone the size of Jack to dodge, and in a moment, a change started to come over him.

As the first ice shard passed into Jack, it seemed to dissolve into nothing, but Ruto could see him gritting his teeth in something like a cross between a flinch and a smile as it vanished. From then on, Ruto seemed to have a much easier time hitting Jack with the ice shards, and each time, though they didn't seem to do any visible damage, Jack's attempts to dodge them grew more and more halfhearted. Ruto didn't know why that was, but she suspected that the adding of solid ice to his incorporeal form was a dangerous thing for him, and indeed, after only the first ten or so shards had vanished into him, he began to descend from the sky, and couldn't seem to fly any longer.

From then on, Ruto started to throw larger chunks at him again, and the iceberg was starting to diminish; the water rising up around her feet, causing much of her old strength to return. However, when she'd thrown about five large ice chunks into Jack's body, something strange seemed to happen to him.

The extra mass, which had before seemed to simply dissipate on contact with him, had made him more and more solid, until his whole body seemed to almost be made of ice, and his mass and volume were steadily increasing with every second. At last, Ruto leapt across what was left of the iceberg, and landed on the other side, leaping forward again, as Jack collapsed forcefully onto the massive glacier, seeming to melt into it, and causing both himself and his aura to vanish almost completely.

Ruto, noticing that the ice was dissolving under her feet, leapt into the delicious, salty waves below her, and swam further and further down, as far as she possibly could. She was swimming for no more than a minute and a half, though, before she found herself back at the teleport area, next to a seventy-foot giant, which seemed to be made entirely of ice, and was laying on its back on the ground. The giant's eyes were open, but it seemed to be struggling to even move its massive jaw.

"In your ethereal form," Ruto correctly guessed, "any ice you touch is absorbed into you, and the more ice, the more mass. Eventually, you become too enormous to even move your own icy muscles, and per the terms of the conflict, I've immobilized you."

"You only... have half... the story." the ice giant that Jack had become muttered to her in a voice that was disappointed, but still somehow pleased, as it struggled to breathe in and out, "The... absorbing... of fresh ice... is a... merging of... soul and... matter. It's the most... incredible... pleasure I've... come across, and... my people... value... pleasure... above all... else. I've spent most... of my free... time doing... this to... myself through... my entire... life. I had to... fight the... desire for... pleasure just... as I fought... you. It was a... battle I... could never... have won."

Then, consumed by the terrible pain that was coursing through her every nerve, Ruto herself collapsed under her numerous injuries, and Link had to carry her back to her team area. She was unconscious in moments, but Link could tell that she'd survive. The zora princess had proven to have more willpower than anyone had suspected, and she'd won her first real fight.

* * *

"I'll take the next one." Stalflare said quickly, looking grim, "We'll need someone to come out of this uninjured besides Link."

At that point, without waiting for a reply from anyone, Stalflare walked up to the teleporters, to find that the last visible fighter on the opposing team wasn't stepping forward. Instead, she was digging something out of her pockets, as if trying to get hold of some kind of weapon inside.

Stalflare had been expected many different types of possible weapons or creatures to emerge from that woman's pocket, but what she eventually produced was one of the last things he would have expected; a small, metal vase.

The vase that the woman was holding was about a foot tall; about four inches wide at its thickest point, and less than an inch and a half at its narrowest. It had an unusual-looking lid, fastened onto it with several latches, and as Stalflare watched, the woman undid them, and opened the vase, putting it carefully onto the ground in front of her. Then, she raised both arms towards the sky, and started reciting words, which sounded like the beginning of some kind of spell.

"Oh, mighty genie Kodacho!" the woman recited loudly, "I beseech you to hear my words, and come forth to grant my every wish!"

As that short speech ended, a terrible shadow passed over the area where both teams were standing. Stalflare looked up in confusion, to see that dark clouds had blotted out the sun, turning the sky almost completely black! As that happened, there was thunder in the distance, and in seconds, some of the clouds had begun to encircle the vase. Lightening struck on the horizon in several places, as the smoke cleared again, and the clouds started to fade away once more. At the end of that awesome display, an incredible being stepped forth from the remnants of the smoke, however, grinning from ear to ear.

He was dressed in long pants, which tightened around his ankles, and sandals of a beautiful, red color. His chest was bare, but jeweled armlets and beautiful metal rings were on his arms and fingers. He was completely bald, but a gem seemed to have somehow been placed into a recess in his forehead. It was a magnificent opal, and it looked almost priceless, but Stalflare suspected that the being himself was more valuable than any gemstone. Somehow, he knew, that man was their group's most powerful champion.

"I, Kodacho, mighty genie of the sacred jar of Karah, step forth from my home since time immemorial to grant my master any wish she may desire." The genie said, his words echoing through the clouds, as though each cloud in the sky overhead was making his voice even louder. Even Stalflare started to feel a bit intimidated by the sight.

The woman didn't look nearly as impressed as Stalflare, however. In moments, she'd pointed at the teleporters, then at Stalflare, saying, "Enter one of those, then defeat that creature. I don't care how."

In response, though, the genie grinned mischievously, saying "I will do as you command."

Stalflare barely saw the genie lift a finger, but suddenly, he was standing on one of the teleporters. Anybody with any sense would have found a feat like that intimidating, but Stalflare boldly got up on the other platform, looking as brave as he could. A mere feat of speed, after all, wasn't going to scare him into surrendering that fight.

* * *

Soon, Stalflare found himself standing right in front of the genie, in the middle of what looked like a town. The buildings were painted impractically-bright, loud colors, with symbols of some unknown meaning all over them, and there was a sort of statue in the center of town, which resembled a pink snowman with no arms, and a bright green top hat. The genie however, didn't seem to find any of that surprising. In fact, he looked a lot more surprised by Stalflare than by their surroundings.

"You seem to think that you have a chance for success in this fight." the genie said casually, his voice no longer echoing through the sky, for the moment, "Do you not know enough about me, or are you simply too proud to admit that you could ever fail?"

"I can't afford to fail for the sake of my people." Stalflare replied, his scowl deepening, "If I don't defeat you, then my world might not survive."

No more words were spoken between the two of them at that point, however, because in seconds, the fight had begun in earnest. Both Stalflare and the genie took flight in a single, swift motion as the battle began. Stalflare dashed forward, to deliver a punch, and was blocked by the genie's left arm. Unfortunately, the genie's strength and speed seemed just as prodigious as Stalflare's, and the worst part was that he still didn't look like he was trying very hard.

Quickly, the genie countered Stalflare's attack with an elbow strike, which seemed to extend outward much further than any elbow that Stalflare had ever seen, but the greide zwooda blocked the attack quickly, and attempted another kick. For a while, the two fighters struck out in mid-air, with simple punches and kicks of enormous power, shattering nearby stones and bricks with the force of their impact, but neither managed to hit the other directly, or get a clean blow against their enemy's head or chest. At last, they both backed off from each other again, neither one terribly winded, but neither making any headway either. That was when Stalflare realized that no matter how hard he fought, there was no way that he could beat Kodacho without using any of his other powers.

"Magic, then." Stalflare said, summoning up an aura of flames around his body.

"A mistake on your part." the genie boasted, holding both hands outward in front of him, his fingers twitching in some kind of magical gesture. As Kodacho spoke, his palms began to glow, and Stalflare could see that the light flowing from his hands was gathering into a series of five small, shining balls in front of him; shining balls that must have been much more dangerous than they looked, because Stalflare could feel some of their power from where he was, and they felt absolutely monstrous.

"The shining dazzle bombs are the genie's greatest weapon in combat." Kodacho explained aloud, as the bright balls began to circle around him on their own, "They can vanquish any foe, no matter how powerful."

Stalflare leapt forward quickly, not even listening to his enemy's boasts; his flame aura changing shape around him to attack the genie. Kodacho had conjured up a strange-looking club in moments, however, and was gesturing to his dazzle orbs to attack his foe.

At the genie's silent command, the orbs seemed to move through the air on their own, headed in Stalflare's direction. Although Stalflare did his best to attack Kodacho from where he was, however, three of the orbs collided with the greide zwooda's flame aura at once, and detonated.

Deafening explosions went off in an instant in front of Stalflare, blowing him backwards through the air with their force. Stalflare's flame aura did very little to protect him from those horrible explosions, although the fact that he didn't take any of them head-on was a consolation, because he could tell that if he had, he would have been dead. Stalflare could feel every inch of his skin aching from some kind of enchantment, which he'd been narrowly missed by.

By that point, Stalflare really was scared. In seconds, he'd scrambled to his feet in desperation, just in time to see the two other dazzle-orbs headed in his direction. Swiftly casting a shielding spell, in an attempt to defend himself from the attack, Stalflare held up both palms, and from them came huge flashes of light, sending light-beams into the hearts of the enemy's orbs. Once again, the projectiles were detonated before hitting Stalflare, and once again, the explosion was painful, but with his shield up, he managed to avoid much more of the damage from the attack.

Quickly, Stalflare got to his feet, and started searching around for his enemy, but in moments, he realized in horror that Kodacho had been behind him. Swiftly, Stalfare spun around, and fired off his light flashes again, hitting the genie directly in the face and eyes with the full force of one of his strongest magical attacks; a spell that would have decimated a small house. It took several seconds for those lights to fade away.

However, as the blinding lights finally did start to diminish, Stalflare felt a lump form in his throat from the impact of what he was seeing. There stood Kodacho, right at the center of a crater that Stalflare's latest attack had made, but there wasn't so much as a single scratch or burn-mark on him. He didn't even seem to have been blinded.

"As strong as your attacks may be against mortals," the genie said calmly, looking more irritated than injured, "I have existed for millennia. You will not be able to harm me with magic of that class."

For several moments, Stalflare could only stare in horror, as Kodacho rose into the air again, seemingly without any effort at all, summoning up three more dazzle orbs to his hands as he flew higher and higher. However, by that point, Stalflare was quickly running out of options, and he knew that if he even wanted to have a chance against Kodacho he had to do something drastic.

Quickly, Stalflare pulled his staff out of his belt, where it had been fastened up to that point in the fight, and cast a new type of shielding spell on it, which he'd been working on recently. Originally, he'd intended for the spell to enable weak mages to overcome powerful ones, but he'd never expected to wind up using it himself, and by that point, he wasn't completely sure that it was going to work anyway. Still, it was the only real chance he had.

Swinging his staff around like a mace, Stalflare struck out as hard as he could at the first of the oncoming dazzle orbs, and was actually amazed when the staff succeeded in knocking the magical bomb back towards its master. Quickly, Stalflare struck the other two dazzle orbs as well, knocking them back towards Kodacho, but it seemed that he was even more stunned that Stalflare, and could barely react to the mighty, magical bombs headed in his direction.

At the last moment, Kodacho started trying to detonate the dazzle bombs early, just like Stalflare had in the past. One detonated almost at once, another was knocked back in Stalflare's direction, but the third grazed the genie's left hip a moment later, and he screamed in agony, like nothing that anyone had felt in a thousand years.

The last dazzle orb exploded at Stalflare's feet in seconds, knocking him backwards again, through a brick wall and two wooden ones, before he came to rest at the base of a large, metal barrier, which he'd dented with his head a second before. Stalflare could feel the injuries that that final explosion had given him, and he knew that he couldn't possibly get up. His legs had been fractured in several places, and he could feel that one of his wings was busted as well. Stalflare was in no shape to keep fighting, and his only real hope at that point was that his enemy was also incapacitated, and the fight could be called a draw.

However, even as Stalflare hoped for the best, he looked up, and saw something that forced him to recognize the truth about that fight's outcome. The genie was floating over Stalflare, with his left leg, and most of the left side of his torso up to the arm totally missing. The genie was obviously injured, but his magic was great enough to keep him up and active. Obviously, Stalflare had lost.

"You're better than I thought you'd be." the genie remarked, sounding more contemplative than angry, in spite of his obvious wounds, "You must have something powerful to fight for."

"Do you?" Stalflare gasped out, barely able to breathe by that point, much less speak. However, as he heard that, Kodacho's eyes flashed bright yellow.

"What?"

"I'm fighting for my people, and for my teammates." Stalflare repeated in slow, gasping breaths, "What do you fight for?"

"I fight for the same reason I do everything; to give pleasure to my masters."

"Pleasure?" Stalflare asked, fascinated by his enemy's reply, in spite of the pain traveling through his whole body, "Don't you have a deeper purpose than that? Is that really your only reason to exist?"

For a moment, the genie just looked confused, and obviously, there was something about Stalflare that he wasn't able to understand.

"What deeper purpose is there than the enjoyment of life?"

"Joy and pleasure are different things, Kodacho." Stalflare explained, as some of his powers returned, and he started involuntarily healing some of the damage that had been done to his lungs, "Even I know that, and I spend most of my life in self-actualization. To really enjoy life, you must learn to appreciate things like honor, justice and the satisfaction of accomplishments. That is the gerudo creed; to accomplish great things, and earn one's place in the world. We take great pride in our individual accomplishments, and in our accomplishments as a race, and it gives us joy, far beyond anything that simple pleasures could provide."

For a moment, the genie was silent, frowning as though he was deep in some futile, but compelling train of though, but at last, he merely said, "I cannot change my lot in life. Serving my master is all that I can do."

Stalflare said nothing in response to that, though, because in his mind, the enemy who'd just defeated him was much less than a man. However, in seconds, Kodacho asked the former gerudo another question.

"Tell me the truth; you do have a fear of failure, don't you?"

Stalflare smiled wryly, however, when the genie asked him that. He was in so much pain, that every nerve in his body seemed to be on the verge of screaming aloud, but in spite of that, he replied to Kodacho's question with a satisfied grin.

"Not anymore."

Moments later, the two had vanished from the small, strange town, and were back in the stadium with their teams. Stalflare had been the first member of the hylian team to lose a battle decisively, but for some reason, he didn't feel so badly about it. He knew that he couldn't move, but Mikey wasn't leaving that arena either, so if anything, all his fight had done was tie up their score. As Darunia picked him up, and carried him back to their side of the arena, Stalflare could see that Jack's icy body had melted for the most part, and he was standing near the woman, who was looking quite pleased with her powerful servant. Kodacho had healed his own injuries somehow, and the dark clouds were vanishing from the sky, as she held up his jar, and he disappeared into it, in a funnel of magical smoke.

"Maybe if we survive this round," Stalflare realized silently, as he watched his enemy disappearing, "it will turn out that both of us were victorious in our fights, in one way or another. He's earned his team a point, but I've been through a failure, and really... it wasn't so much worse than victory."

* * *

By the time it was afternoon, Mark received a visit from Ramie. She'd heard a few of his stories from people who were repeating them around town in astonished tones, and she'd decided that the time had come to give herself another shot at understanding that strange visitor from another world. However, when Ramie finally got to Mark's farm, she gasped in surprise, because Mark seemed to have been digging a series of small trenches through the dirt.

"What are you doing that for?" Ramie asked curiously, though she was quickly starting to accept his strange ways.

"Oh. Hello." Mark said absent-mindedly, not stopping what he was doing for even a moment, "This is going to make the task of watering the plants easier. You see, this way, once these trenches are finished, I can pour water down one, and it will flow down the entire row, so I don't have to water each individual plant."

"That's quite intelligent." Ramie observed with a smile, but in a moment, she asked, "Why do you want to make the work easier? Do you have some place to be?"

"Well, not exactly." Mark confessed, "But people seem interested in my stories about my world, and I figure I can use the extra time to do some more explaining."

Ramie chuckled briefly when she thought about that, but it wasn't long before she replied to Mark's explanation aloud, with the same kind smile as before.

"Yes." she admitted, "I suppose you can. Not everyone has the gift of storytelling."

Mark smiled at her then. Having spent almost a full day in that new land, he'd started to learn that those people viewed things much differently than humans did.

"Actually," Ramie continued, "Your stories are the biggest reason I'm here. You see, I haven't been able to understand your people, and since we're friends, I think I ought to give it another go."

"Fine by me." Mark replied, finishing his last trench.

"Well," Ramie said patiently, "let's start with the basics. What's the thing about your people that's most different from us?"

Mark had to sit down and give that question some thought before he was able to come up with a reply that sounded reasonable. After about fifty seconds, though, he said "I suppose it's that money is much more important to humans than it is to hylians."

"Important in what way?"

"Well, on Earth, you can't get anything or go anywhere, or really do anything without money. You need money to get a house, a mode of transportation from one place to another, you need money to get food and clothes, and of course, if you want to buy a means of entertaining yourself, you need money for that too. Even if you're in terrible need, no one ever takes it easy on you unless you have a lot of money. In Hyrule, people don't seem to be as fixated on getting rich."

"Wait a minute." Ramie said, stopping him, "If your world's people were really that stingy, your species couldn't survive a single generation. What would your newborns eat?"

"Oh." Mark said with a smile over having something so simple to explain, "They eat food provided for them by their parents. Their parents buy food from stores and give it to their children."

"So food is only given to very young babies?"

"Well, no. Sometimes, a group of people will get together and give food to other people who are very hungry, because they don't have enough money to buy food for themselves. That's called charity."

Ramie was starting to look more and more skeptical as Mark explained things, but she told him to continue after a moment.

"Anyway, to be able to make a living for themselves, young human beings have to get an education, and obtain the qualifications they need for a job."

"That part I know." Ramie said with a smile, "The young ones are sent away to a school for a while, where they study the skills that one needs to do any of a number of jobs, and one job of their choosing. We do the same thing in Hyrule."

"Except that here, the child lives at the school." Mark added, "That sometimes happens on Earth too, but not very often."

"I see." Ramie continued, looking confused, but having an easier time, it seemed believing that, "So your children live at home mostly, and their parents look after them while working. Clever."

Mark could see that she was jumping to conclusions again, however.

"Well, not exactly." he replied, though he knew that he was going to have to explain it better than that, since Ramie was already looking confused again.

"You see," Mark said, trying to put the concept in its simplest terms, "Parents have jobs that take up large amounts of time, and earn certain amounts of money in proportion to several factors, like education, intelligence, popularity, cunning, friendships and so forth, but the very rich and very poor are hardly ever at home, and the only people allowed to bring their kids to work are teachers."

"I don't understand." Ramie muttered, looking very perplexed once again, "In that case, wouldn't the majority of parents be absent for most of their children's youth? How can a parent help to guide a child's development, and more to the point, how can a parent and child nurture a relationship if they so rarely spend time together? If the parent isn't guiding the child, and the teacher isn't, then who is?"

Mark was starting to suspect that Ramie was far more intelligent than he'd given her credit for, since she'd drawn all those apt conclusions. However, after a moment, he said, "Well, first off, many people who are so rich, that they're set for life will leave their jobs to others, and retire. That's the time of life when they just relax and spend time getting to know other people."

"You mean they contribute nothing?" Ramie asked, looking horrified, "That must make them feel terrible!"

For the first time in his life, Mark felt as though a hundred facts had been connected. The constant human search for wealth, and the struggle to obtain it had suddenly been simplified in the saying that real happiness comes from working towards something. Such an equation would certainly explain the many unhappy retired sports stars or musicians. Mark was amazed at the wisdom of Ramie, that she could see things in just a moment, which he, in all his life, hadn't been able to. Still, he paused for only a short time before continuing his explanations.

"We let our children entertain themselves when we aren't around, by giving them toys to play with or television to watch. Television is a type of plastic box with metal inside, and it shows moving pictures with sound. It presents the illusion that something is there, when really, it's just an image."

"Okay." Ramie replied with a knowing nod of her head, "I'm familiar with illusions, but how can you be sure that your child is being guided properly towards adulthood by those televisions? Every child needs different guidance, depending on their stage of development. Does your box do that too?"

"No." Mark admitted with a short tilt of his head, "Television doesn't guide children to become adults. If anything, it portrays an almost constant attitude of bitterness and insistent immaturity, which is sometimes translated into humor. There are some programs that are kid-friendly, but when parents aren't around, very few kids will willingly watch those."

A million things seemed to be rushing through Ramie's head at that point, and Mark could tell that it wouldn't be long before she stopped listening to his story again.

"You've given me a lot to think about." Ramie finally said, however, getting to her feet, while obviously trying to fake another friendly smile, "I'll see you again this evening, and ask you a few more questions; then you can tell me more."

"Okay." Mark replied. He could tell that Ramie still hadn't accepted what he'd just said, but really, he was just glad to be of any help he could in enlightening those people.

* * *

"I suppose the next one will be mine." Zelda said, stepping towards the platforms in the center of the area with a look of some concern on her face.

"What if it's another genie?" Link asked in worry.

Zelda frowned in response to that question, but she didn't reply to it aloud; merely stepping up to the teleporter. The woman on the opposite team seemed to have regained some of her confidence because of that last victory, and was digging around in her pocket for something. Soon, she'd pulled out what looked like a small, white ball of fur. It seemed to be alive, and was munching on something in the woman's hand. With a flick of her wrist, the woman gently tossed it onto the ground, and it hopped over to the teleporter without saying a word. Zelda was flabbergasted by the sight, however. She could barely even sense any power at all from that little creature, as if it was barely even a life-form in the conventional sense. Still, it probably had some secret that she wasn't aware of, and Zelda knew that she couldn't afford to get cocky, while fighting something, just because it seemed small and weak.

Wordlessly, the two beings entered their respective teleporters, and vanished from sight a moment later.

* * *

The two combatants appeared next to one another in the middle of a dusty old town, moments later. Virtually every building in the town seemed to be made entirely of wood. Zelda could tell at once that if there was a fire, the town wouldn't survive. Below them was sand and bare earth, as though the whole area was built on a plain without any grass. Zelda could see that her opponent was kind of resting at her feet, not really doing anything. It was a very bizarre creature, because she couldn't seem to make out any arms or legs of any sort on it, or even really any mouth. Still, after only taking a second or two to think it over, Zelda decided to finish the fight as quickly as she could.

Ducking off to one side for a moment, to fake out her enemy, Zelda moved in and kicked the small creature with her boot. The thing squealed in pain, and went flying for several yards like a football, before coming to rest just outside of town, and Zelda rushed to catch up to it, because although it had certainly seemed helpless during that first strike, she didn't want to take any chances with it.

However, as the princess got closer to where the tiny creature had landed, she was driven back away from it again by a blinding light, which she'd needed to shield her eyes from, and suddenly, the small creature was gone, and in its place was something that looked like a shining, white dove, dressed in a golden mantle. Zelda had never seen anything quite like it before, and she paused for a moment to look at it in amazement. Soon, however, the creature fired a beam of light from the tip of its beak, and Zelda had only a moment to duck to one side, avoiding the blast, then spin around, and give the new creature an elbow in the neck, knocking it sideways onto the ground again.

Once again, Zelda was forced to shield her eyes, as another blinding light erupted from the creature, and when the princess from Hyrule looked up again, she began to understand how that beast could be classified as a champion.

What stood there, in the midst of that town, was no longer a mere fuzz-ball, or even a bird, but a man in robes whiter than any spell could make them. From his back came two enormous, feathery wings, and his face seemed to shine with a golden light, that was fearful to see. For a moment, Zelda was worried that she'd die, just from looking at him.

Most frightening of all, the man seemed to hang in mid-air, and he must have been at least twelve feet tall.

The man's eyes were closed tightly, and for a moment, they remained that way, until finally, he pulled a pair of opaque goggles from the folds of his robes, and positioned them over his eyes. At once, the feeling of imminent danger began to vanish, and Zelda saw him, not as a lethal creature, but as a thing of wonderful beauty. More to the point, she saw a sort of intelligence in him, which she hadn't noticed in either of his previous forms.

"You seem very different from the others." Zelda remarked in amazement, however, once he'd put on his goggles, "What are you fighting for?"

"I fight for virtues." the flying giant said, in a voice that seemed to echo through the skies themselves, not unlike the voice of the genie, "I'm a defender of the innocent, and I'm not always in league with the others."

"Who do you defend?" Zelda asked, still awed by the being who floated overhead.

"Those who cannot defend themselves; children, animals, the poor, and those who dream of something better; everyone uncorrupted by the constant obsession with pleasure. I'm their ever-present guardian, looked upon as a horrible foe by those in power, who wish to corrupt the innocent."

"Then you must usually be the enemy of the others." Zelda correctly suggested, but soon, the Guardian replied, still looking sad.

"Today we have other enemies." the Guardian observed aloud, "Our very existence is being threatened. I must do what I can."

Soon, Guardian pulled a shining sword made of flames from his robes, and a shield, which seemed to almost radiate lucidity. When Zelda looked into the surface of that being's shield, she had a much easier time recognizing that none of the strange being's powers were illusions. It was all completely real. Still, she knew that she had to win somehow, and that wasn't going to be easy. She'd been trying to attack Guardian's mind at first, but his mental defenses were absolutely monstrous. In fact, they were much greater than hers, though she couldn't tell exactly how great. Obviously, the fight would have to be fought on physical terms.

Zelda's eyes began to glow, as she started to manifest her telekinetic powers, and lifted herself into the air. Quickly, she flew off to one side, throwing darts at her enemy, who incinerated them easily with his flaming sword, then charged directly at her. As Guardian approached Zelda, however, she could feel the terrible heat radiating from the shining aura that surrounded his body, so she cast a spell, and suddenly, a green glow had surrounded her, and she'd disappeared.

However, as the variation on the spell of "Farore's Wind" deposited Zelda elsewhere in the area, she could tell that her foe had already sensed her presence. Zelda dove to the ground quickly, as a beam of light cut through one of the nearby buildings, and she just barely managed to avoid having her head taken off by it. Where the beam hit the ground in front of her, however, instead of dissipating, it caused the ground to start glowing, and Zelda barely had time to find cover behind another nearby house, and activate a spell of protection before an explosion of light from the place where the beam had hit consumed everything for a mile, except her enemy, and, thanks to her spell of protection, herself.

Zelda was started to sweat by that point, as she looked up at the monstrous fighter, who was still standing in mid-air, as if nothing had happened at all. There was no way she could dodge an attack like that, and there wasn't any cover left, not that it would have done her much good anyway, since that foe seemed to have a kind of radar sense, that allowed him to home in on his enemy, even when he couldn't see her with his eyes.

At once, Zelda decided to go on the offensive, and changed the aura around her body as fast as she could. Moments later, a sea of fireballs encircled the head of the princess, and she began to reach up for them, and throw them at Guardian, who would sometimes block the attacks with his shield, and sometimes dodge them instead. At last, however, he did something that Zelda had never expected him to be capable of. The guardian rammed his sword directly into the ground, causing all the fireballs she'd summoned to be drawn directly to it, through some kind of attraction spell. As that happened, his sword grew to nearly ten feet in height, as though it was absorbing power from her attack, and a wall of bright, red magic extended from it in either direction, shining with incredible power. Guardian's sword had disappeared while forming that wall, but he'd summoned another in seconds, and charged at Zelda directly again. Having no other choice, Zelda activated her spell of protection again, and punched Guardian right in the face.

Zelda's enemy didn't even flinch, but instead, responded to Zelda's attack by hitting her in the stomach, and leaving behind a white, sparkling substance of some kind, which Zelda recognized from the last time she'd seen it in action, destroying the town around them. Quickly, Zelda backed off, reinforcing her spell of protection, and hoping for the best.

The attack felt like being hit with a battering ram. Zelda felt the impact, even through her protective field, and was knocked back through the air quite a long way, away from her opponent. However, the pain wasn't the worst part. Zelda couldn't think of any way to beat an enemy like Guardian, since none of her attacks seemed to be working against him, and his continual assault was starting to wear down her magic. Soon, she knew, she wouldn't have any power left, and if that happened, she'd be helpless.

Just then, however, Zelda remembered something that Impa had once told her about certain elements in the soil, and how to use them to one's advantage, and an idea started occurring to her.

Zelda began to cast a spell over the soil beneath her feet as quickly as she could, and watched as it began to transform itself into a mixture of certain elements. The soil was starting to smell terrible, but it was necessary for what she was planning. She knew that she couldn't use her fire anymore, though, because she didn't have enough magic for a fire spell, so she'd just have to rely on Guardian's flames.

Soon, Zelda stopped running and stood still, waiting for Guardian to approach, and when he was less than three feet from her, diving at her with his sword, she quickly leapt into the air over his head, and kicked him downward with both legs against the back of his neck, activating her spell of protection with her final ounce of power as she hurtled through the air. In the next moment, Guardian's flaming sword buried itself in the dirt, and the explosion could be seen and heard for miles.

The crater left by the explosion was quite impressive. Zelda had broken one arm, and about two ribs in the blast, due to the fact that her magic reserves had run dry as the explosion had ended, but her foe was losing consciousness, and back in the form of a white ball of fur. Even in that form, however, it seemed to have retained its intelligence, because it was speaking to her, although its voice had started to sound both weak and high-pitched.

"What? What happened?"

"You were much more powerful than me." Zelda explained quickly, "I knew that even with all of my magic, I couldn't beat you directly, so I had to find a way to outsmart you. The transformation of soil into gunpowder is a fairly advanced spell, even for the Shiekah. I'm one of only three who's ever accomplished it in this generation, but because you've never used a bomb before, relying on your powers, you couldn't have recognized the gunpowder by sight or smell. That's the reason why I won this fight."

* * *

In moments, Zelda and the small ball of fluff found themselves back in the teleport area with their teams. Though she was injured and drained, Zelda managed to hobble over to where the rest of her team was standing, though she didn't say another word about the way the fight had gone. Obviously, in spite of how dangerous that battle had been, Zelda didn't like having had to fight someone like Guardian.

"I suppose woman is my enemy." Darunia observed, as he walked up to the platforms, brandishing his hammer. In moments, the goron boss, and the female team leader stepped up to the platforms, both looking grim, though for different reasons.

"My name is Darunia." the goron said aloud, introducing himself directly, though he didn't smile as he did so, "What's yours?"

"I'm Eranod." the woman said, obviously trying her best to keep from blowing up at the goron before their fight could even begin, and pulling a staff of about three feet long from where it had previously been stored in her belt. On the tip of Eranod's staff, Darunia could see a small, black gem, and in seconds, Eranod was holding her staff parallel to Darunia's weapon. Neither one, however, said any more than that before stepping onto the platforms, and finding themselves elsewhere.

* * *

The place that the two fighters found themselves was pleasing to both of them. It was a mountain that was large and jagged at its top, and which gave them both a very full view of the sky. It was already evening in that place, and a mix of grey and red lined the horizon, as both fighters carefully observed their surroundings.

"The skies are very beautiful here." Eranod observed eagerly, as she looked up at the clouds, "You can almost reach up and touch them."

"As the strongest fighter of all the gorons, rock is my element." Darunia replied, "It seems like this is the best place for our fight, though I'm sure that was an accident."

Eranod didn't reply to that, but instead, she simply stepped back from the cliff face into the air. At once, before Darunia knew what was happening, a huge wind descended under his enemy, sweeping around underneath her, and moments later, to his amazement, Eranod was standing in mid-air, held up by a cushion made entirely of wind.

Darunia was astonished to see Eranod floating in place like that, but for the moment, he didn't worry about too many things at once, merely observing silently, "I see. She can fly."

Realizing that very shortly, Eranod might be out of his reach, Darunia dashed forward and swung at her with his hammer as quickly as he could, but just as he'd feared, Eranod was up, flying away from his mighty weapon in a fraction of a second. Darunia could see a confident smile on her face at that moment, however. No matter how important it was for her to win that fight, in her own mind, she was enjoying herself.

Quickly, Darunia grabbed a large chunk of rock from the nearby mountainside, and hurled it at her with incredible speed for someone so large and heavy, but she merely dodged it easily, and started using her powers to an even greater degree. Darunia could see the clouds gathering, and growing dark as rain began to fall, and hurricane winds started to strike the mountaintop from various sides, each in turn. He, large and heavy as he was, might well have been blown from the mountaintop, if he hadn't curled up, and sprouted metal spikes from his back and sides to anchor himself to the stone. It was an old, goron trick; most often used for swift travel from one place to another, but in that instance, it really paid off.

At last, it seemed that Eranod was getting tired of those tactics, so she developed a new one. Reaching upwards, she muttered something in a strange language, and suddenly, ten bolts of lightening seemed to descend on her from the sky, and vanish into her hands, making her palms shine like blue searchlights, but it didn't look as if she'd suffered any ill effect from the lightning bolts. Seconds later, she pointed at Darunia with one of her hands, and a bolt of raw electricity shot out from her forefinger at her enemy.

Darunia was incredibly surprised by the nature of the attack at first, and by the speed with which it was traveling, but fortunately, he was just able to roll out of its reach before it was too late. When the lightning bolt hit the ground where he'd been, however, there was an enormous flash of light, and suddenly, a crater of about a foot wide formed in the mountainside. It seemed that, far from being simple electricity, that attack was a spell of some sort, which changed electrical energy into a type of explosive force, capable of blasting holes in the side of a mountain.

"It destroys rocks." Darunia observed silently, "So it could destroy me. I'll have to watch out for that attack."

Quickly, Darunia continued to roll back and forth along the ground for a few moments, just barely getting out of the way of two more lightening attacks, when finally, he was hit in the arm by a large, flying piece of rock, and unrolled in shock for a moment.

By that point, Darunia could hear his attacker laughing as she began to direct the wind again, attempting to blow Darunia into the path of her lightning attacks. That time, evading the attacks was much more difficult. More than once, Darunia was hit by the edge of one of them, injuring an arm or a leg, and he knew that it was only a matter of time until that began to effect his rolling speed, and one of those spells hit him dead-on. Finally, exhausted and aching all over, Darunia unrolled, and fell to the ground. Eranod must have known that that was her big chance to hit her enemy, and there wasn't a thing he could do to hit back.

However, Darunia looked up into Eranod's eyes at that moment, and a flood of fresh emotions entered him all at once; things he'd never in his life felt or experienced. He was injured, and his opponent was a woman no stronger than a hylian. She probably couldn't have withstood even a single punch from him, but she'd overwhelmed him completely. Still the worst part of it all was the look in her eyes. Darunia was no genius, but he'd been around long enough to read the emotions of a person in their eyes, and what he saw in hers was that in beating up on her helpless enemy, she was having a great deal of fun.

Darunia probably understood better than anyone else in Hyrule what it was really like to have fun, and what having fun really meant, and the very idea that someone might find tormenting a helpless creature fun sent a horrible fury rushing through the old goron boss. It was at that moment when, for the first time, lightening struck in his brain, rather than on one of his limbs. He was still furious with his enemy, but a brilliant scheme was forming in his mind, and the time had come to execute it.

"You think this is fun, Eranod?" Darunia yelled over the storm, an with that, he slammed his hammer against the rock diagonally, causing a massive cloud of debris to rocket towards Eranod all at once; dust, dirt and tiny pebbles all headed towards Eranod like tiny bullets, threatening to knock her out of the air.

Reacting quickly, Eranod commanded a powerful wind to sweep all the dirt and gravel upwards, away from her, and into the sky, but for several moments, she couldn't see anything past all that flying dirt, and that was when something happened that she'd never anticipated.

In a blur of motion, Darunia came shooting up at Eranod through the debris that her own wind was carrying upward, until he was finally within a couple feet of her, and she didn't have even a moment to react before he delivered a single, mighty uppercut to her jaw, causing her entire head to shake like a rattle. Darunia kept frowning as he watched her fall to the ground, while he himself plummeted after her. The updraft she'd created had been just forceful enough to propel him up to her when he'd stepped into it, and with all that debris moving so fast, she hadn't been able to see what he'd been planning.

Quickly, Eranod fell on her back on the rocks, and Darunia could tell at once that all of her limbs had been paralyzed by the impact, though it might have injured her spine too. A moment later, when he crashed to the ground near her, it didn't do nearly as much damage to him, thanks to his tough, rocky hide, but his feelings of anger still hadn't died down, even though he knew that the outcome of the fight was in his hands again.

"You would have killed a helpless enemy, and thought that the whole thing was fun!" Darunia exclaimed, holding his hammer overhead, "And I could kill you now! Do you think that would be fun for me?"

For a moment, Eranod's eyes widened in mortal terror, but after a few seconds of watching her enemy in horror, she could see that Darunia's heart wasn't in it. Darunia loved good fun, and a nice game, but he was much too decent to be willing to murder someone. She'd lapsed into unconsciousness just moments later, as the goron boss slung his enormous hammer back over one shoulder, and found himself back in the area with the teleporters. Darunia was badly hurt by that point, but he knew that he could get back to the rooms they'd been given. Besides, Eranod was hurt much worse.

* * *

If Eranod had been conscious, she could probably have just wished for her genie to reach the exit first, but as it was, the fastest one there was Link. Darunia, despite his injuries, was able to carry Stalflare and Ruto. Byrna and Zelda, though each badly injured, were able to help each other to the exit.

Link felt a bit relieved that he and his friends had managed to make it through the first team battle intact, but at the same time, he also felt a little sad about what had just happened, and he made sure to voice his reasons aloud.

"I feel a little sorry for Eranod." Link said as he and his friends walked down the hallway, back towards their room, at the other end, "She looked like she was on the verge of death."

"She deserves what she gets." Darunia blurted out angrily, "We need to get back to Hyrule ourselves. The fairies there can heal our wounds, and we can prepare for the next fight there. We don't have time to worry about our enemies."

"Yes. You can definitely return home and heal up, if you'd like to."

At first, Link hadn't been sure who'd said that, but at last, he realized that the voice had come from the evil-looking guard they'd seen earlier. He'd crept in front of them just a moment before, and they'd all been so distracted by their own concerns and injuries that none of them had noticed.

"Is this the end of the first team battle?" Link asked the guard sternly, feeling very eager to know more, "Did we win?"

"For the moment." the guard replied with something that looked like a sneer, "You can heal as much as you'd like to, and arm yourselves with whatever you want before engaging in the second battle. You have three days before your next fight."

Link nodded after just a moment, however. He wasn't sure whether three days would be enough, given how powerful the last team had been, but at least, for the moment, things seemed to be going in Hyrule's favor.

"I have a personal request, first." Link said at last, looking back up into the eyes of the guard, "I want to take Eranod and Dirk back to Hyrule with me for a while."

"Request?" the guard asked, looking puzzled by the very notion, "They're your conquests. If you want them, they're yours."

Link had only rarely heard the term "conquest" before in his life, but he recognized that the guard was more or less answering him with a yes, and motioned for Darunia to start putting Hyrule's injured champions on the teleporter pads in their rooms, muttering "I'll get Eranod and Dirk."

"Take your time," Darunia muttered back, still angry about what had happened during his last fight.

* * *

That evening, as Mark was sitting on a bench near his farm, he was approached by Ramie again, who asked him if he wanted to see more of Hyrule, and try to familiarize himself with its people.

"Well, I have a job here." Mark admitted after a moment, "What's wrong? I'm not doing good enough?"

"No." Ramie replied in a hurry, looking embarrassed by the way her suggestion had been taken, "I'm not trying to get rid of you. It's just that the potatoes and radishes are usually delivered around Hyrule at this time of year, and the cart-man has expressed discontent with the work, so I figured that if you're up to it, you could take his job, and he could take yours."

"You mean a trade." Mark noted, though he had to admit that he found the idea interesting. He'd never driven a hylian cart before, and it sounded like an interesting idea.

"Well, it would be nice to get out and see more of your land," Mark continued after thinking about it for a few moments, "but I'd miss the people I've met around here. They're very nice people."

"Oh, the trip won't last for more than a couple of weeks." Ramie clarified quickly, "You just have to go there, unpack the food, get to know them for a couple days, and move onto the next place. That's the way all these kinds of deliveries are conducted."

It did sound like a nice way to learn a lot about Hyrule in a short period of time, and besides, if the regular cart-man would be happy as a farmer, everybody would win, so after a few moments, Mark said, "Alright. I'll go, but I have a feeling I'm going to miss this place, even if I'm only gone for a little while."

* * *

The next morning, Mark received his instructions from the cart-man, along with a map of the road, printed with numbers in the hylian written language, which Mark had just barely learned to read.

"The forest, then the river." the former cart-man explained, "Turn back from the river if they don't let you in, but they probably will. After that, go to the desert. Again, use caution, just like at the river, and if they won't let you in, then there's no harm done. After that, you deliver to Kakariko, then Goron City in the mountains, then you go further north, and deliver to the shiekah outpost there, then return for a final delivery at the castle. Once that's done, the job's over for this year, unless you plan on making deliveries of bread, fruits, meat and eggs later."

"I'll have to see how this works out before I make a choice like that." Mark admitted after a moment, receiving a nod from the cart-man in reply, and in just another moment, the man was handing him a small, leather satchel, which felt pretty heavy, in spite of its small size.

"Here's the pouch." the cart-man explained, "Give the horses one carrot each, every time they start to slow down, and one when they make it to their destination. Don't mistreat them, or they'll snub you forever."

Mark almost chuckled at the idea; since it was completely different from the type of horse-training he'd always heard of, but finally, he said "right," and slung the satchel over one shoulder, letting it hang over his left hip.

"Anytime you think you're ready, you can go." the cart-man said at last, "I'm off to take over your job. You don't have to give me instructions, though. I've done it before."

Mark just nodded swiftly a moment later, and in seconds, he was off. He knew that he'd miss the people of Kakariko, though, and Ramie in particular, and for a moment, he almost found himself wondering if she'd miss him too.

* * *

By late morning, Mark had arrived at Kokiri Forest, and been greeted by a very sad-looking kokiri girl with green hair. She'd shown him where to put the food, and left him to the task, which wound up taking less than half an hour, even though he had to leave his cart outside the forest, tying it to a tree root which was nearby, with some extra food left behind for the horses.

Mark spent that afternoon among the kokiri, getting to know a bit more about them. They were a society of ageless forest spirits, with the bodies and attitudes of children, for the most part, who were protected by the magic of the supernatural Deku Tree. A comparison that immediately formed in Mark's mind was of some kind of cosmic nursery school.

He had lunch that day with Mido and Saria; the green-haired girl. They both expressed their interest in seeing a new type of species from another world, but didn't seem to want to hear about tall buildings, money, or really, much at all about his people. However, Mido and Saria each had questions of their own sort to ask.

"Do humans pick leaders like we do?" Mido asked, mostly seeming to be brimming with childlike curiosity, rather than interrogating Mark in any kind of serious sense.

"Most humans don't." Mark admitted with a quick shake of his head, "They decide that using statistics. Only human children pick leaders as easily and quickly as you do."

"What kind of authority do children have in your world?" Mido asked, looking very interested by that point.

"None." Mark said just a moment later, feeling a little sorry for the poor forest leader, "They're born, and they grow to the age of eighteen, and through that whole time, they really don't have any control over their lives."

"That sounds terrible." Saria said after a moment, looking horrified, "If children don't control themselves, who does control them?"

"Well, mostly, they're controlled by their parents, teachers, and young adults we hire to look after them. Those are called baby-sitters."

"But surely," Saria objected quickly, looking even sadder than before, "all children must resent adults if they have no freedom at all. Aren't children even relied upon for advice in your world?"

"No." Mark admitted, though he was starting to feel a bit annoyed by that line of questioning, "In fact, we write fictional stories about children losing control and killing one another, and then force our children to read them in their early school educations. We do that to keep them from thinking they have any good advice for us."

"When do children start thinking of themselves as being advice-worthy?" Mido asked, finally looked skeptical of the whole idea.

"Most of them never do." Mark confessed at last, starting to feel just a little depressed as he realized that aloud, "Many people go through their entire lives, not worrying about how their lives are being run, because they just don't have that kind of self-confidence."

For a moment, they all sat together silently, thinking to themselves, although Mido and Saria didn't look like they were thinking very hard. At last, however, Mido asked another question.

"How long do your children go to school for?"

"They go to school for thirteen years at first," Mark explained, "then, if they want to get a decent job, they go to college."

"Goodness!" Saria exclaimed, nearly choking on her root tea, "You don't mean to tell me that so much knowledge is needed to do a chosen job in your world!"

"No. It's not like that at all." Mark replied with a smile, "In fact, most of those last six years are spent learning things that very few people ever use in a job, and as for colleges, each one teaches something different. Time spent at a college can be anywhere from a year and a half to more than five years."

"Does that make up for lost time?" Saria asked, looking worried by Mark's explanations.

"Well, sometimes." Mark replied, though he was starting to feel less and less sure of himself, even as he spoke, "You see, most colleges are set up so that when you graduate, the knowledge and degree you obtained will be useless in getting you the job you really want. Some things, like law or medicine, can produce reliable and decently-paying jobs, but most people come out of college discovering that the field they wanted to get into is already over-crowded with people just like them or better, and they wind up having to settle for something less. Every now and then, though, you'll come across someone who got out of college, and was lucky enough to be one of the first ones to get into their desired field, and for them, college is useful. Still, most of the time, college is another way of becoming a low-paid employee, which is something that you can realistically become without even graduating from high school."

"How can people spend so much time accomplishing so litt-" Saria began, but Mido gave her a look that said, "be gentle," and she calmed down after a moment.

"What about your forests?" Saria asked curiously, "What method have you adopted to care for them?"

"There are several human organizations that actively work to preserve all kinds of forests." Mark explained, "They protest against people who want to destroy the trees, so that they can build on their land. They do a lot of other good things too. You'd like them."

"Why would people have to protest against one another?" Mido asked, suddenly starting to look very upset himself, "I thought you said your people had been around for five thousand years. I mean, they must have had enough time to arrive at some reasonable conclusions that they can all agree on, right?"

"Humans don't really think like that." Mark said, trying to explain the complex emotions that drove human actions. For the next several minutes, he did his best to explain how the desire to obtain possessions for oneself could cause the rich to seek greater wealth, even if they already had all the money they'd ever need. He tried to describe how the wealthy would hire working men and women, and pay them only as much as the amount of trees they chopped down, and that in many situations, those trees were full of endangered animals and plants, and that many species died every year due to those "loggers." It was, he said, something worth protesting against.

When Mark finished his descriptions, however, he looked up from his tea at Mido and Saria, and he frowned deeply when he saw their faces. Mido was doing quite poorly at disguising a terrifying, immortal rage, and Saria had tightened every one of her muscles up. Her face was set into a mask of reason, as if she were trying her hardest to keep from fainting, although Saria had never fainted before in all her endless life.

"I think dinner is over." Mido said grouchily as he stood up; his cheerfulness and even his curiosity completely gone, "I'll show you to your room for tonight, but first, there's one more thing we need to be clear on."

Mido motioned Mark to come closer at first, but as soon as Mark was within a few inches of the kokiri leader, he hissed "Don't ever tell any other kokiri the things you just told us. We've never been warlike, but I don't know what the others would do if they heard what you just told me. I mean, I feel like sending you back where you came from, if you humans are as bad as you say."

"But you don't understand!" Mark exclaimed, becoming desperate to get through to the ancient kokiri, "America is the champion of good things; of life, liberty and justice!"

"Not from where I'm standing!" Mido shouted back, finally losing his composure, as his face became so scarlet, that it was growing difficult to tell the difference between his skin and his hair, "What about freedom and justice for your forests; for your children? You say you stand for wonderful things, but you reward the creation of new life with more than half a dozen years of mandatory and useless imprisonment. You say you stand for life, but every year, your people destroy entire species of unique and amazing life-forms, simply for their own personal gain. I don't want to hear anything else about your people Mark, and if you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of my way until it comes time for you to leave!"

"Mido..." Saria implored him quickly, though there was a type of coldness in her attitude as well, "Don't be rude. Remember, we asked him about this. If he's really telling the truth, then we shouldn't blame him for the things his people did."

Mark flushed at that remark, however, because he'd always been proud of the accomplishments of the human race, and he couldn't tell what was wrong with the two kokiri leaders. Why, he wondered, couldn't they understand what the whole purpose was? How was it that they were so quick to jump on all the little problems that the human race had, but absolutely wouldn't recognize that there could be a greater good? Why couldn't they see the whole point of the human race, and the actions of America?

Mark continued asking himself those kinds of questions that night, feeling indignant and worried the whole time, and they were the same thoughts that haunted his dreams after he fell asleep.

* * *

When Eranod finally woke up again, she had no idea where she was, or how long she'd been unconscious for. All she could tell was that she was in some kind of old-style house; made of brick and wood, and as she sat up and tried her best to look around, she saw that both Ruto and Darunia were sitting nearby. On top of that, each seemed to be in perfect health. They were definitely looking a lot better than they had on the day of the fight.

Quickly, Eranod sat bolt upright, worried that she'd been taken prisoner by the hylian team for some reason. Soon, she was on her feet, and rushing towards the door, but when she found it unlocked, simple reason dawned on her, and she realized that all of her injuries from the fight were gone. Feeling absolutely dumbfounded and puzzled, Eranod turned around to face the two champions of Hyrule; not really sure what to say.

"Why did you bring me here?" Eranod finally asked, though neither champion looked particularly nervous at being interrogated like that.

"For healing." Ruto explained with the sort of stoicism that indicated that she was probably of royal blood, "Link saw that you were injured, so he chose to bring you back here. Our healing facilities are very good. You can see that all my scales have already grown back in less than two days, and Darunia's completely recovered from what you tried to do to him."

"What about the others?" Eranod asked, however, still feeling worried about the members of her team, "Are they here too?"

"Dirk is." Ruto replied calmly, "Most of your team didn't need our help to recover. Jack, Guardian and Kodacho should be back on your world by now. Anytime you want, we can send you back to the dark castle, and you can use their teleporters to get home as well."

"And Mikey?"

However, when she was asked about Mikey, Ruto just shook her head sadly, since that was one question that she couldn't answer to Eranod's satisfaction.

"We're still not sure where he is, but Link seems to think that he wants to stay there."

Eranod looked at both of them for a few moments, still feeling stunned by what had just happened. She was having a hard time figuring out the hylian team's motives, but after thinking about it for a few moments, she decided to make a wild guess.

"You must have saved me because you couldn't bear to see someone in that kind of pain."

"Hardly." Darunia muttered bitterly, still obviously angry at her.

"Link saved you because he believed it was the right thing to do." Ruto explained, "He thought it was unfair that you should have to suffer for something that wasn't your doing."

"Besides," Ruto continued only a moment later, "we have the chance to learn a little more about you now. Isn't the chance for new information something that everyone wants?"

Eranod just felt confused, however, when Ruto asked her that. At last, she replied to the zora's question, though she was feeling more sarcastic than happy or grateful.

"You want to know about me? All right. Even before all this started, you didn't seem like the type to cause people unnecessary pain, and the way you saved me after I tried to kill you proves that to my satisfaction, so if you want, I'll tell you a little about my people."

At that point, Eranod began to tell the story of her people and her world, and it was certainly a pretty amazing story. She said that since the dawn of time, her people; the Renou, had been behaving like any other animal, and operated on the simple principle that pain was bad, and pleasure good. Unlike other animals, though, they lacked the need to prove themselves to one another, or indeed, to prove anything to anyone. They were all possessed of the most extraordinary apathy in all issues except one, in fact. Personal pleasure was what mattered to them.

Those people developed very few weapons, and many delights, ranging from new food, new flowers and new arts, all the way through a series of strange, orb-like devices; designed to present them with incredible illusions of delight. Since their world had begun, it seemed as though none of their people had ever raised a weapon against another. However, a short time later, their planet was bombarded by meteorites.

The Renou had atrophied over time, becoming so obsessed with personal sensations that they paid no attention to the things that they needed to do to maintain those sensations. The meteorites had threatened to change all that at first.

When the shower of strange, glowing rocks came down on their planet, it caused a number of horrifying situations for the Renou. Wherever the rocks came down, they'd effect the nearest life form, and when they did that, those life forms were transformed into monsters. Usually, the monsters were more or less harmless, but when they were confronted or hunted, they'd transform into massively-powerful beasts, and strike back, sometimes leveling whole cities.

"Guardian was one of the mightiest of those beasts." Eranod explained, "But the meteors affected a few Renou as well."

Apparently, Jack, Dirk, Eranod and Mikey had all been mutated by those meteors, and had been struggling against the beasts of their world for quite some time, to prevent their citizens from having to do the work themselves. That was how the Pleasure Clans had been formed. Those four had explored a hundred areas of their world, one of which they discovered Kodacho's jar in, but everywhere they went, they fought the horrible monsters, and everywhere they went, Renou with no special powers joined them in their quest; mostly because they thought it would be fun. Many believed in their cause too. The Pleasure Clans had grown to over one hundred members in the end, while the rest of the world seemed to be totally wrapped up in their constant, personal pleasure, totally unable to break free of their addiction for even a moment.

"Who provides those pleasurable things, anyway?" Ruto asked as Eranod finished her tale, but the Renou champion just shook her head.

"No one's sure." Eranod replied, "Even I don't really know. Honestly, it doesn't seem like most people care, as long as they keep supplying the entertainment."

At that point, Eranod continued her explanation, but there wasn't much left to say. Mikey was probably the first member of their species to ever take responsibility for a task that didn't involve personal enjoyment, Eranod explained as Ruto questioned her further; a fact that seemed to have worried the weather-witch.

"We can do what we do because we don't take away from the spirit of our people." Eranod explained, looking a bit scared, "If he ever shows up again, he'll be a totally different person. After all, he dove willingly into pain, and if people start to realize that one of their champions did that, it could cause lots of changes; maybe even damage the natural order we've been working so hard to protect."

Once Eranod's explanation was finished, she fell silent, and was deep in thought for a while. For a few moments, Ruto looked her in the eyes very carefully, as if searching for some kind of further explanation, but at last, a look of disgust spread over her face.

"You wretched fool." Ruto said in utter distain, "You knew all this time that the constant obsession with pleasure was killing your people slowly, and you would have let it happen. You're upset that Mikey might make that choice differently."

With a swift jerk of her neck, Eranod stared into Ruto's eyes for a few seconds, but when she saw that denying it wouldn't accomplish anything, she looked back downward again, hanging her head.

"I think you should leave Hyrule," Ruto said, no longer sounding disgusted, but definitely a little cold as she spoke, "and don't bother coming back. If we get our wish, we'll save your world and a hundred others, but I don't see why you fought so willingly for it. Pretty soon, your people are all going to be dead anyway, and all this time, all you've done is help them reach their grave."

Trembling in a mixture of rage and fear, Eranod got up to leave, when Darunia spoke aloud, distracting the Renou champion from Ruto's latest outburst.

"Dirk will be with you in a few minutes."

"Tell Link I said thank you." Eranod replied, starting to recover her composure just a little, and causing both Ruto and Darunia to stare at her open-mouthed. After what they'd just learned about her, they hadn't expected to hear that.

"I hope the other three members of your team are alright." Eranod continued, however, which only added to their surprise.

"Those three are fine." Ruto replied, however, when the shock had subsided, "In fact, right now, they're working on something really special for the next fight."

* * *

At that very moment, a flying, fast-moving object tunneled directly into the side of one of the mountains surrounding Hyrule, causing dirt to emerge in a large mound near Hyrule Field. Zelda was nearby, and casting a spell on the dirt as it emerged, swiftly turning it into a strong, metal alloy. Byrna gave directions, as fire spread out from the hands of both Stalflare and Zelda, melting the metal in mid-air, above a large tank that Byrna had made. Then, Stalflare was flying nonstop into the desert, where he flew in tight circles with incredible speed, kicking up a huge amount of sand, and by generating an airborne sandstorm, he was able to get about a ton of the sand back out to Hyrule Field. That was separated into three piles at once; two small ones and a large one. Zelda held the sand in the air with her telekinesis, as Stalflare melted it with his flames, and moments later, Zelda had used her power to mold the liquid sand into a pre-defined shape. The metal, meanwhile, was being poured from the tank into several pre-created molds by Byrna, and since his task, for the moment, was finished, Stalflare flew north again, trying to find some more rare elements.

Even with all of their power; their speed; their strength and skill, the first fight of the Conflict of Champions had still been a close call, and the champions of Hyrule were determined to make whatever effective weapons they could, in preparation for the next big battle.

* * *

"Link."

The voice had come from the young man named Grap, who stood behind the Hero of Time in the middle of a large, sparse plain, "I don't like this. No one's ever come out of that temple alive."

The two of them were standing together, in the midst of a barren wasteland, in front of a temple that was a few miles north of Death Mountain. It was shaped like a star of some kind, standing on its edge, and yet, the place looked incredibly intimidating, in the midst of that land, where there seemed to be so little left alive.

"That's why you're not coming with me." Link explained, handing his bag of belongings to Grap, "I'm going in there alone. If I come out alive, I'll tell you about it within a day."

Grap looked worried by that suggestion, but he seemed to realize that he couldn't even say a word of protect; not to someone like the Hero of Time, who'd been through so much already. In moments, Link had stepped forward, and vanished into the darkness.

* * *

Inside, Link could see diagrams on the walls, describing that only one who could pass the challenges was worthy to hold the treasure. They were a typical type of warning for old temples and caves of that sort, and he had no doubt that the warning was absolutely true. Slowly, Link crept stealthily through the first hallway, being very careful to remain silent as he moved on into the next room.

A diagram greeted Link in the middle of the next room, however. It was written on a stone tablet, which seemed to have been stood upright in the room's center, and its message looked surprisingly cryptic. It read "The blind spawn the blind; more and more blind when felled, until there is only darkness. Bring no light to the darkness, and you may pass."

Link was still pondering over that strange riddle, when a stalfo descended from above, and landed on the floor in front of him with a crash; right between himself and the doorway out. Link moved quickly in response, dashing forward, and cutting off the stalfo's head in one swipe before heading for the door. However, just as Link reached the doorway, it seemed to slam shut on its own. Quickly, Link spun around, and saw that instead of a dead stalfo, there were suddenly three living ones, and they were all headed right for him.

Link ducked back and forth, dodging the attacks of the stalfos as he considered his position carefully. A foe that multiplied when killed would, in theory, be invincible. Whole armies could have been decimated easily by just one foe with a power like that, but what about the riddle? Could the riddle have been referring to Link's new enemy? "More and more when felled" certainly seemed like an appropriate description of that creature, but what did it mean by calling those Stalfos "blind?" Was it possible, Link realized after just a moment, that the Stalfos really didn't have any sense of sight? If that was true, then surely, he could evade them all, just by being silent enough. They'd charged him before, but at the time, he'd been in a rush to get to the exit, and hadn't exactly been very quiet.

Link could see that all three were headed his way by that point, though, so as silently as he could, he crept along the side of the room to the left, watching as the three stalfos converged on where he'd been a moment before, and seemed to scramble around in confusion for a few seconds, before finally vanishing in dark puffs of smoke. The doorway to the next room opened up as soon as the stalfos were gone, but just to be on the safe side, Link didn't dare to make any noise until he was in the next room.

"Bring no light to the darkness" Link thought to himself, feeling almost amused as he thought about the riddle that he'd just resolved, "In other words, don't try to fight the enemy, and you'll prevail."

Quickly, Link stepped into the next room, and in spite of his caution, he gasped in surprise at what he saw. It was an absolutely beautiful room; fifty yards long, with a glass ceiling, and a lush garden in the center. The inscriptions on the walls read "A single shot to make the kill."

Link could see that fifty yards away on the other side of the room was a hole in one of the walls, and that beyond that hole was what seemed like a large button. Slowly, the Hero of Time took one step into that room, when suddenly, the walls began to close in on him! The plants that had been resting on the ground retreated downwards through holes in the floor, and the walls came closer and closer together with every second, giving Link less than three seconds to act before he would have been squashed flat.

Yanking out his bow, Link fitted an arrow into it, and with the words "a single shot" in his mind, he fired, watching as his arrow passed through the hole in the wall, hitting the switch dead-center. Once again, Link had made a bulls-eye at more than fifty yards, like he always did; only that time, he'd had the pressure of a time limit to deal with as well.

By that point, the walls had been less than a foot from Link's skin, but once his arrow had struck the button, they'd stopped; retreating back to their previous position, and the plants rose back up out of the floor, to return to where they'd been as well. Once again, the room looked just fine, and after a moment, Link walked forward, past the surprisingly-lush plants, and opened a door in one of the side walls, which led into the next room.

As Link stood in the doorway of the next room, he could see the inscriptions on the walls, reading "The assaults of your enemies; too great to be defeated, must be escaped. Your enemy is all around you."

As Link pondered that troubling riddle, he stepped forward into the room, and suddenly the door slammed shut behind him, and whole sections of the ceiling began to fall, as arrows and darts emerged from the walls, and razor-sharp spikes began to pop out of the floor. Moving as fast and planning as quickly as he could, Link ducked under projectiles, rolled out of reach of falling ceiling tiles, and leapt over spikes and pits, until he came to a pit that he couldn't leap over. A bridge had been there once, but by that point, it was gone; having crumbled ages ago, and the traps were still advancing on him from behind. Having only a moment to wish that he'd brought his hover boots along, Link leapt out towards the pit, and fired his hookshot upwards, where strangely, it caught on a stalactite, and he found himself swinging out across the pit, and through the final door at the end of the hall of death that he'd just escaped from.

In the last room, there were no inscriptions; no clues; just a pedestal on which a small pouch stood. Link looked at it from every angle, trying to determine if the offer of the pouch was genuine for several moments. After all, whoever had built that temple must have been a genius with traps and tricks, and had obviously designed it to train or test young warriors. He had a difficult time imagining that they would have left the treasure at the end unguarded. Besides, Link could see some kind of glass globules in the ceiling overhead, which were most likely some kind of monitoring devices.

There was a treasure in front of him; a reward of some sort, but obviously, there were traps in that room too, and they'd most likely be activated if he didn't pass that final test, whatever it was. What was particularly frustrating was that the designers of that temple didn't even seem to have left him any clues. However, in the end, Link decided to just do what he always did in those kinds of situations; he put aside his own feelings, and thought about the problem carefully.

It seemed like that temple was of shiekah design. They were the only ones with the magic and intelligence needed to design so many complex traps, and the ones most likely to want a foolproof test of skill, which was the only possible reason for that cave's existence. Surely, Link had already passed their skill tests. After all, the reward was right in front of him, so what were the ancient shiekah trying to test him on in that chamber? Grabbing a reward? No. That didn't make any sense. Anyone could grab a reward, but receiving one graciously was completely different.

It was only then that Link started to realize the true nature of that last room; it was a test of shiekah etiquette, just as lethal as the last three, and to pass it, he just needed to prove that he knew how the shiekah accepted rewards for skill and training.

Swiftly, Link walked up to the treasure, and sat before it in the exact same way that Impa had taught him years before; the shiekah means of sitting when accepting gifts from a mentor. Link sat there for a few moments, before reaching up and taking the pouch from the pedestal in the room's center, and at that moment, a hundred loud noises were heard, and darts and arrows collided with the walls all around him. However, not a single dart had touched Link at all. His posture had been absolutely right, and in seconds, all of the traps and doors behind him moved aside, allowing the Hero of Time to leave that old temple in peace.

Once outside the deadly temple, Link looked into the pouch, however, and in spite of the horrible situation he'd just been in, what he saw inside made him smile.

"Wow." Link remarked, "I haven't seen these since I was a kid..."


	12. Pt2 Ch4 The Devalued

Chapter 4: The Devalued

* * *

Mark spent two days among the kokiri, learning about their ways, and carefully avoiding any discussion about the ways of his own people. However, he was a bit surprised by what an interesting study their society was.

The kokiri possessed eternal longevity; the eldest of them being many thousands of years old, but they chose to behave, for the most part, like the little children they resembled. That brought many questions to Mark's mind about what the wisdom of the ages really meant. He had to wonder whether thousands of years of wisdom truly amounted to the idea that the behavior of children held the answers to true happiness.

Still, all children needed a guardian, and for the kokiri, that guardian was the Deku Tree; a magic tree that could speak to other living creatures through telepathy, and possessed the power to command the growth of plant life.

As for the kokiri's form of government, they had almost none. Some would go out in the day and collect shiny rupees, and other things with which to play, but they mostly spent their time playing together, with no regard for who was in charge.

The kokiri chose a leader in the simplest possible way. Whoever was most flamboyant, with the greatest will, and who could teach them the best games was the one they paid the most attention to. At the time, those leaders were Saria and Mido.

Generally, however, the Kokiri did surprisingly well unsupervised. They hardly ever got into a fight, and when they did, it was settled quickly, before anyone could be hurt. Their mastery of simple reason and good humor was astonishing to Mark, who'd mistaken them for simple kids at first.

Furthermore, they lived in close enough commune with nature that they considered themselves to be a part of it. Despite their sentience, they were contributors to the natural world around them, not trying to be its masters, and never caring who was master of what. Those ageless beings picked fruits, nuts, roots, and recently, had received shipments of eggs, meats, fish and vegetables from the hylians as well, but they only did that to be a part of the food chain; nothing more.

For some reason, the curiosity of the kokiri extended only so far. They were always searching under rocks, behind trees and around bushes for new secrets or games, but they didn't seem to care about anything that went on outside of their forest world at all. Furthermore, Saria had told Mark that it had always been that way since the first kokiri was made.

In the mornings, the kokiri would scamper around, gathering fruits and nuts for themselves and their neighbors, like squirrels. In the late mornings and afternoons, they often congregated at the center of their forest, to arrange games and other activities. By the early evenings, the Kokiri would gather, for the most part, to sing, dance, and have a fun time. Their songs were beautiful melodies, played on pan flutes or other woodwind instruments. Mido had made his flute from a series of dead water reeds, and it was surprisingly sturdy. It was considered to be the best flute in the forest, aside from the ocarina that Saria had, which had been made by fairies. The two of them would lead, whenever many kokiri played a song together. Primarily, they played flute songs, which sounded perfect when one lived in the woods. There was a stunning beauty to that woodland life, and despite the harsh words he'd received on his first night there, Mark was reluctant to leave. Still, he knew that he had to, because there was still much more to be seen...

* * *

At last, the day came for the second battle of Hyrule's team. More than thirty-two teams had fallen to one another, and Hyrule was one of the ones remaining. Link knew that with each battle they fought, the number of teams remaining in the conflict would be halved. What he didn't know was why there had been only sixty-four to begin with.

* * *

"Why sixty-four teams, sir?" the black-clad Zelda asked her wicked master that day, during a pause in the conversation, inviting her simple curiosity.

"Oh, that's right." he realized, standing up, "I never did tell you why I decided on sixty-four, did I?"

"Well," the evil one explained, "at first I was going to have only sixteen, but then a word shot through my mind that I found distasteful. 'Pink.' So, I arbitrarily decided that sixty-four would be a better number. Silly, eh?"

"Perhaps." the evil Zelda replied, though she was starting to scowl in confusion.

* * *

At the allotted time, Link and his team; fully healed, stepped into the central teleport area, and were surprised to find that on one side of the area, watching from one of the doorways, they could see Eranod and Guardian; once again in his form as a white ball of fuzz. Link looked the same as ever; dressed in a green tunic and hat, with white tights and brown boots. On his back was strapped his mirror shield, and the Master Sword, with its two sheaths. His belt held his tunic in place, and a small pouch was hidden underneath it, which contained Link's other equipment. The spell surrounding the pouch was what allowed it to carry so many large objects, with so little needed space.

Stalflare was dressed in a pair of black tights and cloth boots. His chest, arms, neck and wings were bare, and he had a leather belt, with a series of small pouches attached to it, that he hadn't had during the last fight. He also had a staff, the same as always, but that one seemed to be topped, not by a gemstone, but with a bauble made of glass, and shaped like a round ball on the outside, and oddly on the inside. The bauble was atop a rotating disk, on the end of the staff.

Zelda had a glass bauble like that herself, on top of a staff of her own, but her staff was contained in a pouch in her shiekah uniform. Aside from that, her uniform and general appearance were the same as always. Darunia and Ruto both looked the same, although Darunia's arms and Ruto's scales had, of course, been healed from their past fights.

The biggest difference was in Byrna. Her armor had changed a lot in the last three days; becoming much smaller and less bulky, and fitting her quite well, with each joint divided into five or more ringlets, which bent at the slightest touch. Yet, they could all tell that it had the same abilities as her previous armor, and perhaps even more besides. One thing was certain, though; she'd be able to move much more freely in it. As before, her head was the only part of her body uncovered by the armor, but they could see small recesses in the shoulders, which indicated that it had been designed to include a helmet of some kind. Still, they'd all have to wait for the start of the fights before they found out what the nature of Byrna's improvements really were.

As the team walked out into the central combat area, they saw the wicked Zelda there again. Link had given up on trying to find out who she was, for the moment, but he knew that she was somehow involved in that entire conflict; maybe even working directly for its master. Over the past three days, Link had tried to find out a little bit about the master of the conflict from the other competitors, but they had surprisingly little to tell. He'd never shown his face or revealed his name. He never acted with compassion, and he had God-like powers over whatever world he inhabited. Worse yet, he had a device that allowed him to travel from one world to the next, so if he wanted to, he could definitely destroy any or all of their worlds. Naturally, that notion was pretty chilling. He'd told them when the conflict began, that if they prevailed, they'd fight his team. Who, Link wondered, would he choose to be on his team, and if he chose to participate himself, how could they possibly withstand his power?

All those worries shot through Link's brain, but they didn't make him hesitate. They were nothing compared to the worries he'd had about Zelda, and really, he was relieved that the evil Zelda had turned out to not be the one he knew at all. For the moment, Link knew, it was time to focus on their opponents, who stood across the teleport area, away from them.

"At least" Link thought, "all six are visible this time."

They were indeed. One was a middle-aged man, dressed in brown robes, carrying a pouch, and wearing a brown and grey beard of about a foot long. The second was dressed in skintight black from head to foot, and wearing a black belt, which was lined with small pockets. Next to him was a young man in a white t-shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers. He looked irritated with the situation he'd found himself in. Beside him was a man dressed in a strange, white outfit, and a white mask, who seemed to be holding hands with a woman dressed in a black outfit of the same sort, only without the mask. She had long hair of a greenish tint, like Saria. The last member of their team stood a few yards away from the others, and it was a young woman dressed in a skintight, black outfit. A persistent hissing sound seemed to come from her fingertips, whenever she opened her hands.

"Can you tell us anything about our new enemies?" Link asked Zelda again, as soon as he'd gotten the chance to look them all over, hoping the results would be better than they had been last time.

"Some." Zelda remarked aloud, "The one in the blue and white is a martial-artist. The man with the beard is a sorcerer of some kind. The man dressed all in black is a warrior, who fights injustice, and he has many different skills and weapons. The man and woman holding hands are demons, but that's all I can sense."

"What about the last one?" Link asked, pointing to the girl who was separate from the others, but unfortunately, Zelda was already looking crestfallen.

"Her, I'm not sure about." Zelda observed aloud. "With anyone else, I can sense their presence. With ordinary objects, I merely sense no sentient minds, but when I try to sense her... I just can't seem to get any kind of response. It's like my mind probes vanish into her, and never come back."

Link nodded slowly for a moment, to show that he understood. He listened, while the dark Zelda repeated the basics of the team and single battles a moment later, then stepped aside, as if waiting for the fighters to begin on their own.

"Who'll go first?" Link asked his teammates, not feeling particularly good about the idea of any of his friends fighting those kinds of vicious-looking opponents.

"I will." Zelda said; determination all over her face as she replied to him.

It made Link feel pretty worried to hear that, but he knew that Zelda was as much a member of the team as any of the others. It wasn't the first tough fight she'd been forced into, and hopefully, Link realized, it wouldn't be the last.

The other team's members seemed to talk amongst themselves for about a minute, but then the black-haired young man in the jeans stepped forth from their team to meet Zelda on the platform in the center, with the two teleporters, looking upset, but definitely confident.

"I'm Kanu Kagera." the boy said, introducing himself with a frown, "I wish the jokers in charge of this thing had let us to meet in something that wasn't a fight."

Though she knew that they'd be trying to kill one another in moments, Zelda couldn't help but smile at that remark, replying "I'm Princess Zelda of Hyrule. I share your wish, but it's not the one I'll make if I win."

The two nodded at one another at that point, at almost precisely the same time, then stepped into the teleporters, and were gone.\

* * *

Almost as soon as they'd stepped onto the teleport platforms, Zelda and Kanu appeared on a beach, with soft sand under their feet and waves nearby, lapping against the shore. To the north, they could see a dock with two buildings; one a bar, and the other one a shop, but on their section of beach, there didn't seem to be any buildings, or any people either; just a small mistletoe tree, a little to the west, beyond which lay a land of a rather impressive size, and some sort of desert beyond that, which almost looked as if it stretched on forever.

For a moment, Kanu seemed to be warming up, stretching his arms and jogging in place, before throwing several punches in mid-air. Zelda was fascinated by her enemy. He certainly didn't look supernatural, but somehow, he'd wound up at that conflict, and that meant that supernatural or otherwise, he was a very tough fighter. Still, Zelda couldn't seem to determine the nature of his strength. Although she was noticing a little bit about his past, she couldn't read far enough into his mind to pick up on what his powers were.

"I'm torn." Kanu said at last, interrupting Zelda's futile attempts to read his thoughts, "On the one hand, it would have been nice to see your face, but on the other hand, if you were a beautiful woman, I might have a hard time bringing myself to punch you out."

"I'll keep the mask on, if you don't mind." Zelda replied, from behind her all-concealing shiekah uniform.

"Suit yourself." Kanu responded, bending at the waist in a common sort of stretching method, "Will you go first, or should I?"

That comment took Zelda aback somewhat, but she didn't reply to him, so Kanu didn't say anything else. In a moment, his face became stern, like the face of a guard who'd seen a hundred fierce battles. Only a moment after that look had appeared on his face, however, he vanished, right before Zelda's eyes.

Zelda had been trying to read his mind, but he'd clearly guessed that that was one of her gifts, because the more she tried to read his thoughts, the more he seemed to think one thing, and do another, which was extremely distracting, since Zelda wasn't used to dealing with a person who could separate their thoughts and actions so much from one another. After a few seconds of that, in fact, she decided not to try to read his mind at all, since all it was doing was distracting her from the fight. Instead, she had to look at him the way that a warrior would have; to anticipate his next move only through the motions of his muscles, which, since his muscle structure was slightly different from her own, wasn't exactly a perfect method either. Zelda had to take a few punches before she began to understand his attack style, and at that point, it was much harder to withstand them. Her enemy was certainly some kind of fighting genius.

After a few moments of watching her opponent dash back and forth, and let fly with punches and kicks every now and then, Zelda's hand darted out, and grabbed her enemy by the wrist. However, he quickly saw the danger, and performed a judo move, to lift her completely off her feet, and hurl her backwards, over his head. Zelda managed to land safely from that throw, without bruising herself too much, but at that point, she knew that in basic hand-to-hand combat, her enemy was definitely superior to her. Furthermore, he'd already shown that he was even faster than she was, and stronger too, which meant that she didn't have any choice but to escalate the fight, and use her more advanced powers to try to gain an advantage as best she could. Her new staff was too fragile to be used against someone so fast and powerful, but Zelda knew that she had to start casting spells. As Kanu dashed at her again, Zelda activated her shielding spell, and stayed perfectly still, waiting for the impact of his next blow.

What happened next was something that Zelda definitely hadn't been expecting. In mid-punch, Kanu saw the blue glow of the magical shield that surrounded her, and just as quickly, his fist also suddenly began to glow blue. As his punch collided with her stomach, Zelda felt the pain very intensely; even through her shield, and was knocked back through the air a good five yards; totally unprepared for the force of the attack. At last, Zelda scrambled to her feet, feeling about ready to vomit from the blow that had just been landed into her stomach, but Kanu, at least, seemed to be waiting for her to get back up before continuing his assault, as if he were trying to be honorable about their fight somehow. For that reason, in spite of the ferocity of his last attack, Zelda didn't feel too uncomfortable about making an observation to him aloud.

"If you'd hit me with that when I hadn't had my shield up," Zelda gasped aloud, once she'd managed to get her breathing back under control, "I'd probably be dead."

"Nope." Kanu replied, however, a moment later, "It doesn't work that way. The attack you just felt attacks the enemy on a different plane of existence. It doesn't hit your body; only your spirit. Unless your spirit is just as invulnerable as your shield, though, you'll still feel the blow, and I've never met anyone with an invulnerable spirit."

A moment later, however, when Zelda's shielding faded away, she knew that meant that her shielding spell would be useless against Kanu, so instead, she began to channel fire around her body, hoping that even if she couldn't withstand him, she might still be able to burn him. However, as the flames darted towards her foe, Zelda witnessed yet another amazing power, which the strange boy seemed to possess. In moments, his fists began to glow blue again, and he let fly with another powerful punch, directly into the heart of the flames, knocking the flaming projectiles away, as if they were made of rubber.

Zelda had seen people deflect heat energy before, but she'd never met anyone who could block open flames so successfully with his bare hands. He didn't even seem to have any first-degree burns.

By that point, Zelda was starting to get very worried. Already, her enemy had proven to have excellent short-range offense, and strong defensive capabilities against all of her short and long-ranged attacks. All he needed at that point was a long-ranged attack of some sort, and he'd have proven himself superior to her in every tactical sense. However, just as the princess was thinking about that, she looked directly at him again and saw him fitting both hands together, and pulling them apart, as if struggling to redirect the power of his spirit into something totally new, and at that point, Zelda knew that she had to take action immediately, or she'd run the risk of facing another strange power. Swiftly leaping forward, the princess reached into her pouch, and threw a series of razor-sharp darts at her enemy in a volley as fast as she could. Their points sped towards Kanu's flesh, but he seemed only mildly excited by them for a moment.

Suddenly, Kanu shoved his left fist forward, towards the oncoming missiles, and a series of sharp "bangs" was heard; so loud that Zelda had to fight the urge to cover her ears in her own defense. Projectiles made from light seemed to spring from Kanu's fist, and travel in all directions at once, consuming her darts and heading in the princess' direction. Zelda had to twist her whole body around in mid-air to dodge the remaining energy projectiles, but as she landed, and began to retrieve a thin, sturdy cord from her pouch, a blue glow appeared again, that time from Kanu's palm, and a moment later, blue energy cut through the sandy air, and Zelda had hardly any time to dodge. Swiftly, she began to cast Farore's Wind on herself, to teleport, but the green energy of the teleportation effect and the blue power of Kanu's spirit attack interacted very badly with one another, and in mid-teleport, Zelda found herself surrounded by what seemed like a whole ocean, made of spirit-attacks. It wasn't propelled by unnatural momentum, but it was hardly much less painful.

As Zelda came out of the teleportation, she was covered in burns. Her uniform had seen better days, and she was in horrible pain. Worse yet, Kanu had found her again, and was preparing to fire another of his spirit attacks to finish her off. As quickly as she could, Zelda looked up, into his eyes, hoping to have enough time to react, even though she barely felt like she could move at all...

Zelda's costume was definitely burned all over, and her mask was burned in many places too. When she lifted her head to look Kanu in the eyes, her mask fell away, and her long, blond hair flowed down over her shoulders. The area around her eyes, and the bridge of her nose had been burned, but not too badly, and the rest of her face had escaped his spirit blast completely intact. For a moment, her eyes met with Kanu's, and she could see some part of his soul in those eyes. Zelda sensed a corruptive influence in the fellow's past, but not a tyranny per se. Something had scarred him with an evil of some kind when he was younger, and continued to scar him to that very day. He, in turn, saw into her soul; good, pure and innocent; learning from her every mistake; never wanting for top-quality moral guidance, or lacking the willpower to impose those moral disciplines on herself. She could tell that he found her as strange as she found him, but there was one more thing that he was obviously sure of. As he gazed upon her face and hair, he knew that he'd never seen anyone so beautiful in his life.

Kanu's attack stopped where it was the moment that he saw Zelda's face, and in awe of the vision before him, he fell to his knees with tears in his eyes. In the next minute, he might have gotten control of his faculties again, but Zelda wasn't going to let that happen. Her cord shot out and grabbed him by the feet, yanking him back, and as he slid across the sand, she kicked him right in the mouth, watching as a part of his chin caught fire from her attack. He swiftly dove into the water once he realized that he was in flames, and re-emerged, hopping mad, but by that point in the fight, his attacks seemed slower, and his defenses weaker. He was fighting like someone afraid of their enemy, and Zelda took full advantage of that, striking out with her boots and fists where she could. She could see that he was weakening, and had stopped using his spirit attacks. He definitely wasn't able to focus any longer. At last, Zelda performed a circular kick, which tripped him up, and buried his face in the sand, finishing the battle for good.

Of course, Zelda was glad that the fight had ended without anyone really getting hurt, but she knew that her victory wasn't due to her own powers, but because somehow, that fighter had been unable to focus whenever he saw her face. Something about her appearance had nearly mesmerized him.

"What kind of person would be so easily entranced by simple appearances?" the princess wondered silently, as she found herself back on the teleport platform, with her team watching her from nearby.

* * *

"You had us worried for a moment there." Byrna said as Zelda rejoined her team. However, the princess couldn't help but look scared when she made her reply to that.

"I'm not sure why he stopped attacking during those last few minutes." Zelda said, "He already knew I was a woman. It must have been something about my appearance, but what?"

Link was clearly puzzled by that too, but after a moment, he hazarded a guess as best he could.

"All kinds of people admire different aspects of beauty, but I've never heard of anyone placing such value on simple physical image before."

"These people aren't of our world." Zelda reminded him quickly, "They may have been raised differently."

"In any case," Stalflare announced, "I'm going next."

Zelda sat on the floor near her other teammates, and began trying to channel her magic into healing her burns, as Stalflare whipped out his glass-topped staff, and stepped up to the platform. He was met there by the white-clad, male demon in the mask, who'd finally, painfully, released his companion's hand, so that he could fight against Stalflare alone.

"I'm Stalflare; greide zwooda, and the greatest champion of Gerudo Valley." Stalflare announced to his opponent as he stepped up to the teleport area.

"I'm Amoto; tempter, person of influence, and traveling demon." the masked one replied just as quickly.

Then, their introductions finished, and each too proud to hold any further conversation with their opponent, the two stepped into the teleporters, and were gone.

* * *

As soon as he'd finished materializing in his new combat location, Stalflare looked around, to try to get some sense of where he was, and what kind of resources he'd have to deal with during the fight. He seemed to be in a field, full of grass-like sprouts, which were growing out of the nearby rocks. His enemy, however, was standing in mid-air, a few feet away, with his feet resting on two glowing, white disks, as if those discs were somehow supporting his weight in mid-air.

"So he flies," Stalflare concluded silently, "and I didn't see anywhere on his outfit where he could have hidden those disks, so he probably just created them somehow."

However, Amoto definitely looked very confident in his own abilities, and after just a moment, he started to explain them, as if completely sure that his powers had no weakness.

"Light." Amoto said, with something of a tone of admiration in his voice, "It's a force that most demons consider to be their worst enemy. Hardly any ever attempt to study it, and of those, only a very few go beyond the ability to create blinding flashes, or candle-like lights. I, on the other hand, have mastered it completely. The mortals of my world would call it the spectrum of visible light."

As Amoto was speaking, trees seemed to appear soundlessly around the two fighters, and between them, hiding him from Stalflare's view, as if a whole forest had just sprung up from nowhere. Stalflare looked carefully around for any sign of his enemy, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see him anywhere. However, he could still hear his enemy's voice speaking out from some location nearby, though he couldn't pinpoint its source, exactly.

"You'd be amazed at the full extent of what simple radiant light can do." Amoto continued arrogantly, "Bright lights aren't even one percent of the power it affords to a dedicated demon. All demons have energy in their bodies, which they use to manifest powers, in the hopes of growing stronger, and I focused all of mine into the mastery of light, until I could control all of its functions. As you can see, not only can I make bright lights, but I can change the colors of light, like a prism, to create illusions in the eyes of my enemies."

The moment that he heard that, Stalflare plunged directly forward, expecting the trees to be mere illusions, but as he did so, one of his wings collided with a nearby tree trunk, and he could feel it scraping against an extremely hard surface of some kind in that moment. Soon, Stalflare backed off again, cursing in gerudo as he realized that somehow, those trees were even more solid than if they'd been made of real wood.

"When light is intensified, it becomes a laser." Stalflare heard his enemy chuckling at him, "When lasers are arranged just so, they can feel very physical to the touch. I believe that on some worlds, that's called a laser field."

"He should have all the power he needs to crush me, in that case, but he still uses his powers as a mere smokescreen, or at best, a cage." Stalflare thought carefully as he considered his enemy's most recent attacks, "If he really could create any physical object he wanted to, it would make a most potent weapon."

However, just as the thought passed through Stalflare's mind, he saw one of the trees changing shape nearby, turning into Amoto; his enemy. Quickly, Stalflare rushed forward, and slugged him hard across the chin, watching as Amoto's head was turned partway around by the force of the blow, but after only a second, it became obvious that Amoto hadn't really been hurt by the attack. In a second more, he slugged the greide zwooda in the chest, and Stalflare was instantly in horrible pain, the moment that the blow connected. After that, Amoto kicked Stalflare in the chin, with so much strength, that the greide zwooda could barely believe it, and as Stalflare scrambled to his feet, rubbing his chin, he heard the frustrating laughter of his enemy as clearly as a temple bell.

By that point, however, it seemed obvious that Amoto had mainly been playing around with Stalflare, and the gerudo champion had had more than enough of that. Yanking his staff from his belt, Stalflare spun the top on the staff as he flew through the air, and soon, a spell of freezing cold had blanketed the entire area. That was the power of Stalflare's new weapon. Before, he'd needed to work considerably to change the nature of his spells in mid-cast, through intense concentration. However, with that staff, he could just spin the glass head on the top, to channel the proper kind of spell. It was a design that Zelda had been working on for a while, and the greide zwooda was grateful that she'd shared it with him.

As Stalflare's spell of cold was completed, he watched as everything within ten feet of the ground was covered in ice. At last, when Stalflare was sure that he'd done some damage to his enemy, he descended, and to his horror, could see that although all the trees seemed to have vanished, Amoto was still there, and looking pretty angry by that point. Placing both hands out, the demon fired several beams from his palms, but Stalflare quickly deflected those with the enchanted, glass bauble on the end of his staff. Seemingly realizing that simple beam attacks weren't getting the job done, though, Amoto put both of his hands together, and in the next moment, something horrible happened.

Where once, there'd only been a single Amoto, suddenly, there were two, then three, then four. Soon, there were fifteen of Stalflare's enemy, all aiming beams of focused light at him. Stalflare could have stopped to wonder which of those Amotos was real, but he knew that it didn't really matter. Any one of them would have been dangerous if their beams had struck him, so he put up a force field around his body as fast as he could, and tried to deflect as many of the dangerous beam attacks as possible.

Most of the beams were stopped by Stalflare's shield, but one of them was able to cut through the edge of his barrier, and nicked him in the side of his leg. The beam only made contact with about an inch of Stalflare's skin, but it made him feel like he had fire for blood. The gerudo groaned in agony for a moment, but he knew that he couldn't afford to lose his concentration at that point during the fight. Quickly, he spun the head of his staff again, and flames of his own started to shoot out from his body, in a last-ditch attempt to incinerate all of his enemies at once.

Three of the Amotos were engulfed in flames, but remained standing as they burned. That was when Stalflare lost his temper, summoning up his flame aura, and increasing its power to its absolute greatest. Fire darted out in all directions, covering the ice, the snow, and the Amotos. If they'd been flesh and blood, they would all have been nothing more than piles of ashes in moments, as the fire melted the ice and snow completely, consuming everything within Stalflare's field of vision.

However, when the flames finally died down, all fifteen Amotos were still standing, and still looking thoroughly unimpressed.

"It's impossible." Stalflare realized aloud, in worry and amazement, "It's impossible that he could be one of them. I would have incinerated him if he was."

Then, Stalflare realized something else, however. He realized why Amoto had been able to withstand his first punch, and more to the point, why he'd been able to deliver such a powerful blow in return. He also realized that there was only one way he could win a fight against a foe like that one.

The many Amotos fired their lasers again, just as Stalflare finished thinking, and each one cut through Stalflare's force field like hot knives through butter, making contact with his skin, and putting him through a horrible kind of pain, which most people never have to experience in their lives. Burned all over, Stalflare collapsed to the ground face-forward, his hands underneath his chest in agony.

All at once, Stalflare's breathing started to become less regular, and his eyes rolled back into his head. As the sorcerer's burns forced him towards unconsciousness, however, the muddy dirt underneath him gave way, and another Amoto rose up out of the very ground, in a bubble of light, which seemed to project an illusion of invisibility around himself. That bubble was dispelled swiftly, and all the other Amotos vanished at once, as the one who'd risen up out of the mud stretched his muscles, and walked over to Stalflare, who still lay prostrate on the ground. It was only at that point, when he could tell that the victory was his, that Amoto made any observations.

"It always works this way. Give a warrior an enemy to fight, and they'll fight it, leaving me to claim victory when they kill each other. The power to allow people to see and feel whatever they want is the biggest reason I've always been so successful."

Then, proud of his handiwork, Amoto turned on his heel, and felt a knife digging into his back.

The demon panicked, as the knife dug its way deeper into him, and he felt his strength leave him, while the pain got worse and worse. After struggling against his attacker for no more than a moment, however, he fell to his knees; his power leaving him. He could see that Stalflare was standing up, the burns completely gone from his skin, with an empty dagger sheath in one hand.

"What!" Amoto gasped, feeling the life draining from him, with no concept of how he'd lost control of the battle so quickly, "What happened?"

"Your own arrogance mostly." Stalflare explained with a sneer, "You're used to fighting stupid knights and soldiers, or other brutes who see nothing but the foe in front of them. I fight with my brain, and it didn't take me long to realize that I'd been fighting nothing but illusions since you first put up those light trees. That's why you were able to withstand my punches, and hit me back. You used the power of light to do that; not your own physical power."

Amoto coughed into the mud at his feet in desperation, as he collapsed to the ground the rest of the way.

"Once the idea occurred to me that you could be fighting exclusively with illusions," Stalflare continued angrily, "I became certain of it almost at once. After all, that's what I'd do if I had your powers. The only dilemma was luring the real you out of hiding, and the only way I could think of to do that was by pretending to fail, so I weakened my force field, took the blows, and began healing them from within immediately, so that I could strike you by surprise when you revealed yourself. It was a simple tactic, really."

However, Amoto didn't have anything to say in response, because he was dead.

* * *

Soon, Stalflare found himself back on the central platform of the teleportation area, but Amoto didn't reappear. There wouldn't have been a point in bringing his body back anyway, Stalflare realized. The deed was done.

Link never got used to watching death, but he knew that that, like all the deaths suffered in that conflict, would be undone if he got his wish. It was possible that that had occurred to the green-haired woman on the other team as well, or it might not have, but she was reacting to her friend's passing with the utmost rage, regardless. Pushing past the others, she stepped up to the platform, having obviously decided that she was going to fight next.

"I'll fight her." Darunia suggested, stepping forward quickly, and preparing to introduce himself to his opponent.

"I'm Darunia." the goron boss said, but his opponent simply gave him a very dirty look in reply. Obviously, she had no intention of introducing herself, and after what had just happened to her friend, he could hardly blame her. Still, as the two stepped into their teleporters, Darunia could only hope that she wouldn't hold what Stalflare had done against him.

* * *

The last fight had ended in a dirty grave, and although it seemed ironic, Darunia's fight began in one. The two appeared in the center of a tomb, that seemed to be made from hardened ice, and old, scarred stone. Coffins made of ice surrounded them on every side except one, where a door lead out onto a snowcapped mountain. Inscriptions seemed to be chipped into the surrounding ice by master artists of some kind. Obviously, whoever lived in that world used ice in much the same way that the gorons used stone, Darunia thought; to build, write and carve just about anything they wanted.

Darunia's enemy, however, wasn't wasting time admiring her surroundings. At once, the size and shape of her muscles began to change, and before Darunia could prepare himself, he was knocked over by a very powerful punch.

The female demon obviously had the power to change the size and shape of many parts of her body. In fact, as it turned out, it was only her skeletal structure that she couldn't alter, and she was using that ability to adopt the power and force of an unnaturally-strong athlete whenever she delivered a punch. To Darunia, those punches were no more painful than those of an average goron, but they still hurt somewhat, and he knew that he needed to get serious with that foe as quickly as he could.

Getting swiftly to his feet, Darunia prepared for the assault of his fast-moving enemy, and put his arms up to block her next attack. As she punched him, he blocked the blows as fast as he could, one after another, then retaliated with a swift kick, which knocked the strange demoness back away.

Quickly, the demoness got back to her feet again, having been sobered by the attacks of her foe. She must have realized that she'd need to use more of her powers to defeat him by then, and began to summon more of her demon energies for an attack. Soon, her face bore an expression as though she were choking, and she gasped once in relief, as black, bat-like wings spread out from her ankles, elbows, back and head; four full pairs. The ones on her ankles, elbows and head were probably about two feet long each, but the ones on her back measured more like six feet. Darunia was starting to get worried when he saw that, though, because from the looks of things, she'd be the second enemy of his who could fly, and that alone was a big problem.

Indeed, it seemed that his enemy could indeed fly, though she hardly needed her wings for that. Floating up into the air on a cushion of magical energy, the demoness fired powerful, sharp spikes out of the points on her wings, putting Darunia on the defensive at once. With his hammer, he blocked and deflected the sharp projectiles, and watched in horror as her wings seemed to change into a kind of black liquid; shaping themselves into other unnatural things, like a series of drills, knives, swords, and even small guns.

From what Darunia could tell, his enemy's wings had no skeletal structure of their own, and for some reason, that seemed to give her the power to change their shape at will, into whatever she wanted them to look like. However, to Darunia, they merely represented a powerful weapon to be blocked or avoided. Still, the demoness' wing-weapons were moving much too fast for him to block all of her attacks, so the goron boss rolled up into a ball, and ducked in and out of the paths of her strikes, avoiding every sharp point that he could. As fast as her weapons moved, he moved faster, finally turning back around, and rolling towards her, to strike her in the stomach with a blow so powerful, that she was knocked back into a wall of ice, splintering it into a hundred icy shards.

However, Darunia had a nasty feeling that that wouldn't be enough to finish his enemy off, and he was absolutely right. Soon, she'd leapt forward, and in a flash of light, there were five of her; all with glowing hands, as though ready to fire some kind of energy attack at him. Darunia could tell that he had only a moment to decide which was the real one, so he took the safest route. Whipping out his hammer, he spun it around in a circle, and watched as it passed through three illusions, and into the real demoness, who was once again knocked into an icy wall by the impact of the powerful weapon with her flesh.

In retrospect, Darunia could tell that he'd been lucky up to that point, to be fighting that demoness in such an enclosed space, where his weapons and blows could still reach her. If not for that, she could probably have just fired at him from above, like his last enemy had. Soon, though, she seemed to have realized that. Spreading her mighty wings, the woman flew out the door, and high up into the sky over the icy tomb, getting out of the goron boss's reach. Once there, her wings transformed into an enormous gun, and she placed her hand into a slot in its back. At once, the gun began to amplify her own demon energy several-fold, and Darunia could see, to his horror, that it was firing a blast of power towards his location.

Rolling up into a ball again, Darunia leapt from the icy tomb, just as it exploded in a massive blast, which resembled a huge bird, made of fire. Just the sight of that blast sent a chill through Darunia, however, which even the frigid cold of that mountaintop hadn't given him, because he knew that even one hit from a blast like that would have been enough to finish him off. He was quite convinced that he had to find some way of stopping that attack.

Slamming his hammer into the snow, Darunia created a torrent of snow and ice, traveling upward towards his foe. The snow, in fact, was so thick, that the demoness couldn't even see what Darunia was doing next, and she was completely unprepared when his hammer flew through the air towards her, slamming into her stomach, and knocking her down the mountainside in an avalanche of snow and gravel. In no time, however, that avalanche had started another, larger one, from the very top of the mountain to the bottom, and soon, both Darunia and the demoness had to brace themselves, because in seconds, they were both covered in snow.

Darunia's strong arms got him to the surface of the snow very quickly, but the demoness' wings got her there first. As soon as Darunia emerged from the snowy drifts, he was confronted by the demoness, wielding his hammer, and just a moment later, in a flash, there were two of her, each with a hammer, and each ready to bring it down on his head. What was worse, in the snow, Darunia could hardly get any traction while rolling.

For a moment, Darunia couldn't see how he was going to get decent enough footing to defend himself, much less attack his enemy, but as soon as he started looking for a handhold, another idea occurred to him, and he realized that there were, in fact, two decent handholds right in front of him. In a moment, with very great speed for a goron, Darunia reached up his long arms, and grabbed the two hammers, being held by his two visible opponents. He was surprised to find that both hammers were solid, but it gave him no pause at all, and made his job a lot simpler, as he brought his arms together, causing the two demonesses to crash together in a painful-looking way, and release their hammers.

Darunia had hit the demoness again and again over the course of the fight, and although the blows had done damage, it was obvious that more was needed. A moment later, Darunia lifted a hammer in each hand, and seconds after that, he brought them down on the heads of the demonesses, hearing a slight cracking sound, as one of them vanished, and the other lapsed into unconsciousness.

With the fight over, Darunia put both hammers away in the pouch that had previously housed only one, but he was already starting to worry a bit about the strange nature of that demoness, even as he vanished from the snow-covered mountainside.

* * *

As he and the demoness reappeared on the teleporters, Darunia felt as though some horrible thing was trying to assail his consciousness. It wasn't another demon, exactly, but rather, a realization about the people they were fighting; something that he didn't really want to face, but couldn't avoid forever.

"I don't like this, Link." Darunia said as he approached his team once again, "These people seem to be motivated by something strange. First, there was that business with Zelda's face, then the comment Amoto made about how his power to make people see and feel whatever they wanted had made him successful, and just now, the demoness I was fighting showed that she had the power to change the shape of her body."

"You think they're pleasure-motivated, like our last enemies?" Link asked curiously,

"Possibly," Darunia replied, "but they don't strike me as being pleased at all, really. The only real emotion I've seen one of them display in reaction to the fate of another was rage. I'm worried they might not cherish life at all."

Link frowned at that point. The idea had occurred to him as well, but he'd chosen not to bring it up aloud. However, the time for the next fight was fast approaching, and it looked like Byrna had volunteered to fight next. Her armor made surprisingly little noise, as she stepped up to the platform. The one who'd decided to fight her was the man with the beard, who must have been dangerous himself, though he didn't exactly look it.

"Norowon was reckless." the bearded man observed aloud, as soon as he was within earshot of Byrna, "It was her own fault she lost. I'm Geryn the sorcerer, and I promise you that I won't lose as easily."

However, Byrna started to feel worried the moment that she'd heard Geryn speak. His first words had been an insult to his fallen comrade, and Byrna couldn't understand that. It seemed almost as if those people were merciless and vindictive; even to their own teammates. Still, Byrna had to wonder if maybe that was another clue; another piece of the puzzle, to help Byrna understand what was really wrong with their opponents.

"I'm Byrna." she said at last, not feeling much better, however, "Why are you so quick to insult your own companion?"

"She was Amoto's companion, not mine." Geryn replied, actually sounding even more upset as he spoke, "It always seemed strange to me that she should choose the one person in the world who could make any mate he wanted out of the merest light particle."

At once, however, Byrna began to understand the meaning of Geryn's words, and they were starting to worry her even more.

"You cared about her." Byrna guessed aloud, "You insulted her out of bitterness; not hate."

"You don't know how it works." Geryn just replied, however, shaking his head angrily, "You're too young. I loved her for what she was, and I hated her for what she did."

"Loved her for what she was?" Byrna thought to herself silently. To her, the words made very little sense. After all, in Hyrule, people loved one another for who they were, rather than for what they were. However, after puzzling over it for a few moments, she decided not to press the matter any further. Instead, she just stepped into the teleporter in front of her, and Geryn, seeing what she'd done, followed suit.

* * *

The place that Byrna and her enemy appeared in was very beautiful. A thin forest was on one side, and a pretty plane on the other, with a river running in between. At the mouth of the river, there was a small basin, no more than a few yards wide, and one deep, fed into by a waterfall of about twelve feet tall, beyond which there were low mountains. The terrain was much more varied that any area of that size that Byrna had ever seen before, and that was very interesting to her, and apparently, quite pleasing to her opponent for some reason. That worried Byrna a little, but it was her enemy, not her worry, that she was focusing on.

Byrna could see that Geryn was looking around himself like a kid in a toy store. At last, with a mischievous expression on his face, he grabbed a berry from a nearby bush, and closed his hands around it. Then, he opened his hand just as quickly, and the berry shot towards Byrna with incredible speed, having changed color to a bright blue-green. Byrna leapt over the projectile, and watched as it collided hard with a rock behind her, and exploded in a blast of fruit juice, releasing several gallons of the stuff in all directions, as if it had all been compressed into that one, tiny berry. Byrna could hardly believe what had just happened. Obviously, that fighter had the ability to mould his magical energy, to create certain kinds of effects, but the full extent of what his magic could do was unknown. All that Byrna knew so far was that in his hands, a simple berry could kill.

Turning back to face Geryn, Byrna's guns emerged from her armor, which began to fire at him, but it was too late. He'd already crushed a twig in his hand, and it had grown into a tree at his feet; looking like a crescent-shaped shield, and made of some metal-like material so strong, that Byrna's bullets couldn't penetrate it at all, so she quickly changed tactics, activating her flame-thrower instead. She melted all the way through the metallic tree in the blink of an eye, but her enemy was gone by that point, having apparently hidden somewhere, and Byrna couldn't seem to figure out where he was.

Suddenly, Byrna heard a whipping sound from behind her, and spun around, firing into the air. Leaves the size of watermelons had been headed straight for her head, armed with razor-sharp edges and hardened by magic, and she'd skillfully shot down each one before they could reach her, then leapt off to one side, as a series of small pebbles flew by her, transforming into large, stone hounds a second later.

Switching back to her guns, Byrna was able to destroy the magical beasts, but her enemy had vanished completely, and he had the advantage in being able to strike whenever he wished, with seemingly any kind of weapon that he could imagine. He could probably see her, but she couldn't tell where he was.

Quickly, Byrna's eyes darted left and right, searching for Geryn as best she could; up and...

Up. In moments, Byrna had spotted her opponent at the top of the waterfall, reaching down with one arm, but still keeping one eye on her. Not wasting a moment, she rushed forward, hoping to reach him, and watched in horror as, before she could get to him, he gripped some of the water in his left hand, and dropped it back into the waterfall, casting yet another silent spell.

The basin, river, and even the waterfall were flooded all at once, the moment that the spell was cast, and an unnatural wave, as big as a house came from the mouth of the stream, and washed over Byrna, who was swept back by its sheer force. She could tell that in mere moments, one of the water droplets would get into her lungs, and at the rate the water was growing, she might drown just from that. Over the rush of water, however, she could hear the laughter of her enemy, and she knew that she had to work fast.

Having been nearly trapped underwater in her last fight, Byrna had thought to add a helmet apparatus to her armor, with a portable air supply. Quickly, she activated it at once, and a strong, transparent dome came out of the recesses on her shoulders, and covered her head completely, sealing itself, and filling with air in moments. Then, she activated the other device that she'd thought to add because of what had happened during her last fight.

When Byrna had fought Dirk, one thing that she'd had to do repeatedly was use her flames as a means of propulsion, but it was clumsy work, since she could only fire flames from her gauntlets. While she'd been back in Hyrule, therefore, Byrna had added rocket-like flame jets to her boots and back, which, at that point, she activated, vaulting over the cascading waves, and delivering a powerful punch to the chin of her enemy in moments, who had, at first, been laughing.

Byrna was just about to hit Geryn again, however, when he grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, and threw it at her, where it transformed into a huge fist; made from earth, seized her, and tossed her several meters back through the air. In seconds, she'd regained her bearings, and was headed back towards her enemy, but by that point, she realized, he was probably ready for her with some new spell. She knew that she had to find some way to take him by surprise again if she was going to have any chance to win, but she couldn't think of any way to really do that. His powers seemed nearly limitless.

In just a moment, Geryn attempted to throw something at Byrna in mid-air, but she ducked underneath it, and flew past him, towards to the mountains. After that, he began to slowly walk towards her with both fists closed at that point, though, and that worried her by itself. Obviously, he had some surprise attack contained in each hand, but she couldn't afford to let him use either one of them. Swiftly, Byrna dove forward, firing off her flame thrower at her enemy, who seemed, for a moment, to be on the defensive, but suddenly, he tossed one of his items; a blade of grass, at the ground in front of her, and at once, grass-shaped tentacles grew out of the dirt below, snaking themselves around her legs, and dragging the airborne warrior down, even against the powerful force of her propulsion jets. Soon, the grass had wrapped itself around her arms as well, and held her close to the ground, facing upwards. Geryn walked up to where she was being held prisoner at that moment, looking supremely confident, as he held out a pebble over where she was; tied to the ground and helpless.

"I suppose a five-ton boulder will even crush someone in armor like yours," Geryn observed with something like merciless cruelty, "so the fight's over."

"Yes." Byrna thought to herself, as a brilliant plan rushed through her mind at the last second, "But only for you."

Byrna had previously been trying and failing to yank herself upwards, against the pull of the enchanted grass, but as soon as Geryn dropped the pebble, and she saw it start to expand before her very eyes, Byrna knew that the true solution to her problem was virtually the opposite. Her legs shot up, and her jets activated, ramming her hard into the ground, and cracking the base of the air tank she'd used to supply herself with air up to that point. At the same time, the jets on her feet blew the expanding rock into more than a dozen huge pieces, and the escaping air from the tank propelled her out of the grasp of the evil plant, and back into the air in one sudden burst of motion.

Byrna could see that the fight was over as soon as she got her bearings again. Geryn had been hit by a three hundred pound chunk of rock, when she'd shattered the boulder, and he'd lost consciousness almost immediately, due to the seriousness of his injuries. It hadn't been an easy fight, and her armor would need repairing soon, but at the very least, the hylian scientist was victorious.

* * *

Byrna only smiled slightly as she reappeared on the teleport platform, obviously not feeling too badly about her victory, but it was just as clear that something was bothering her, and pretty soon, she walked over to where the rest of her team was standing, and told them about everything that Geryn had said before and during their fight.

"Loved her for what she was." Link muttered, rolling the words over in his mouth carefully, as though trying to grasp some theoretical concept hidden within them, "I don't know what he was talking about, but it's not love. Love is about a mutual valuing of someone else even more than yourself. I'd say that the closest thing I can compare his behavior to is selfishness, though I've never heard of anyone applying it to living creatures before."

Link paused for another moment after that, thinking things over, but finally, he seemed to have arrived at an important conclusion, and said aloud, "I'll fight the next opponent myself. There's something I have to know."

The others just watched silently after that, as Link stepped up to the teleport platform, and his opponent; the man dressed all in black, approached to meet him from the other side.

"My name is Link." the Hero of Time said quickly, though he still felt nervous about fighting someone who he knew so little about, "I have to ask you a few things."

The man dressed all in black seemed confused by that remark, but after a few moments, he just responded, "Ask away."

"Why did you come here?" Link asked.

"To save my people from annihilation." the black-clad figure replied, "That's obvious."

"But why save your people?" Hyrule's hero clarified, looking genuinely confused about that for some reason.

"It's the principle." the black-clad figure replied, "Everyone wants to live, and I have to do what I can to give them the chance."

"But do you really care about any of your people?" Link asked incredulously, "Do you value their lives, or their dignities?"

The fighter in the black seemed confused about that for a moment, but finally, he said, "I don't see how that factors into it."

There was silence between the two of them for a few moments, but eventually, Link spoke up again, sounding genuinely sad and horrified by his opponent.

"You fool. Your entire planet doesn't have a single loving soul. You're only motivated by personal desires and petty jealousies. You think that the simple desire for companionship is love, but it's not. You and your people have profaned the word 'love.' You have no reason to fight for your survival, because you don't have the true love that makes life worth living."

The dark fighter had obviously been upset by those comments, but eventually, he just said, "I'm the Shadow of Justice, Link. I'm a person who doesn't want to see people get hurt, and for that reason, I'm going to stop you."

"You don't want to see people get hurt." Link observed sadly, "But you have no problem with seeing them devalued by their brothers, and by your society in general. When someone learns to devalue people, then everyone can be a victim of that; anyone can be devalued by someone with that mentality, Shadow. Your people only care about what they can experience and obtain for themselves. They don't believe in the sanctity or dignity of life. That's the reason why I'll vanquish you."

Then, the two stepped silently into the teleporters, and in what seemed like no time at all, they were gone.

* * *

It was nighttime in the place where Link re-appeared. All around him, there were metal structures, as tall as mountains and half as wide. Glowing lamps illuminated every few yards of paved gravel roads, with raised platforms of pavement along the edges. Link could see flying, metal vehicles zipping by overhead, making loud noises as they did so, but he could hardly even make out specific shapes in the darkness. The lights illuminated small areas, but they were useless for actually seeing anything more than a yard away. Link thought, at once, that the designers of those "street lamps" must not have though them out very well.

Suddenly, however, a small canister landed in front of Link, and some kind of smoke emerged from it. Link couldn't see through the smoke, and it made him choke a bit as it entered his lungs. For someone else, it might have had another effect, but as a hylian, Link was immune to most poisons. Still, distracted as he was, he didn't see the Shadow descend on him from above, leaping from on top of the nearest street light, grabbing the Hero of Time by the shoulders, and slamming him into the ground.

Link's shoulders cracked the pavement as he impacted with it, and before he could retaliate to that assault, he felt a very powerful and skillful blow graze part of his neck, sending a shock of horrifying pain through most of his body. If not for the fact that Link was used to withstanding terrifying levels of pain already, he might have fallen unconscious just from that first attack.

The Shadow must have noticed that Link was still conscious, because he tried to deliver another punch to his head quickly, but that time, Link saw it coming, and ducked back to one side, avoiding the blow, then delivered a swift punch of his own, and although his punch didn't connect, he did force his enemy back.

Link and the Shadow engaged in a swift form of hand-to-hand combat at that point, throwing and dodging powerful punches as fast as they could, before realizing that they were almost precisely equal in skill. At last, Link backed off and drew his sword, and the Shadow dove backwards into the darkness again. Link heard the sound of a grappling hook in the darkness a second later, however, and the next moment, black boomerangs of some kind were headed towards the Hero of Time from three different directions.

Link dove back and forth, avoiding the well-aimed devices, until one of them collided with the street lamp over his head, and stuck there. When that happened, Link heard a hissing sound, as if some kind of chain reaction had been started by the impact of the small boomerang, and swiftly, he leapt away from it as the device exploded, shattering the street lamp completely, and casting that whole section of the road into darkness.

"No problem," Link thought, scrambling to the next circle of light, as the one he'd been in vanished.

At that point, Link carefully searched around, trying to find his enemy, but quite convinced that he wouldn't just step into the light anymore. So far, the Shadow seemed like the sort of fighter who was partial to stealth, and that sort of fighter wasn't likely to reveal himself until he was ready to launch his next attack. Obviously, Link couldn't win that fight by just waiting for his enemy's next attack, though, which meant that he had to do his best to fight the Shadow on his own terms. Once he'd come to that decision, Link completely closed his eyes and dove into the darkness himself.

Brandishing the Master Sword, Link concentrated on the slightest sounds around him, and reacted with lightning speed, to slice a rope of some kind in half; a rope that had been intended to ensnare him just a moment before. Then, spinning around in the opposite direction, Link caught hold of a foot that was flying through the air towards his face, and aimed it at the ground, hearing a surprised gasping noise, followed by the sound of someone rolling over nearby. Swiftly, Link pressed his attack, striking his fist downward, where he'd heard his enemy rolling over, but the Shadow had leapt to the side by that point, so Link opened his eyes again, giving up the attempt in frustration. He was doing his best, but he couldn't seem to think of any way to really defeat his enemy, since he couldn't see or hear him.

Quickly, Link started to run over all the facts he'd been able to learn about his new foe, one by one. Obviously, the Shadow was comparable to Link in strength, speed and fighting skill, possessed a similar arsenal of weapons, and was, if anything, much better at striking from the darkness. If only it were daytime, Link thought, he might have been able to match him in battle, but...

However, just then, another idea occurred to Link; an idea so simple, that he was surprised he hadn't thought of it before.

It had been so long since Link had used his ocarina to cast a spell over reality around him, that he'd nearly forgotten that it had that function, but in a rush, he placed the instrument to his lips, and played a song that he'd used several times before.

Shadow had a vague memory of an explanation, and a time spent in waiting, but only in the way that one might remember a dream. Once the dream was over, it seemed, somehow, to be twelve hours later, and the sun was out, in the glare of mid-afternoon. Link smiled, however, as the Sun's Song finished its work, and at once, in the plentiful light of that world's sun, he saw his enemy trying to hide in a nearby alley.

As fast as he could, Link leapt forward, and watched as the Shadow used a grappling hook to climb on top of a nearby building, but Link pulled out his hookshot, and followed him closely along the same path. Soon, the two were on the rooftop, facing each other directly, in the clear light of midday.

Link shot off several fire arrows and two ice arrows at the Shadow as quickly as he could, who rolled out of their path, and threw more boomerang-devices at his enemy. Link just swatted them into the air with his sword, however, and reached into the new pouch in his bag, pulling out his newest weapon as well.

Link had a series of four boomerangs between his fingers when he drew them out of his bag, and with a single, swift motion, he threw them all at his enemy at once.

The Shadow ducked back and forth quickly, out of the way of the boomerangs with ease, dodging more arrows fired by Link at the same time, but suddenly, the boomerangs turned around in mid-air, and headed back towards the shadow again. He struck out with a club, in an attempt to shatter those weapons, but found, to his horror, that they were following his movements, ducking away from his blows, and spinning back around to attack. Shadow was able to move swiftly enough to shatter one, but by that time, he'd been pushed back by the others. Just as he shattered a second boomerang, his back collided with Link's chest, and he felt a burning sensation course through his shoulder blades and spinal cord. As Shadow fell forward, onto the pavement, the two remaining boomerangs circled overhead, and he looked up at Link, to see that the Hero of Time's energy had changed, and soon, fire seemed to be all around him.

"The magic boomerangs are a treasure that I found only recently." Link said aloud, looking sad as he spoke to his opponent one last time, "But this technique is one I've had since I was a kid."

Before Shadow could get to his feet, Link shoved both hands against the ground, and the entire area was engulfed in fire. The boomerangs were both incinerated, and Shadow's outfit burst into flames all around him.

* * *

Soon, Link found himself back on the platform with the teleporters, with a carefully-extinguished, but thoroughly-defeated Shadow nearby.

As the Shadow lapsed into unconsciousness, though, what remained of his clothes seemed to change consistency, growing colder and shinier, until its surface seemed to be a type of fire-retardant armor. Link sighed, however, as he realized just what a tragic person the Shadow was. All that time, he'd had a device that could have protected him from Link's spell of fire, but he'd hesitated to use it until it was too late.

"It's because," Link realized aloud, feeling pretty bad about the way that fight had ended, "he knew I was right about his people. They really don't deserve to get their wish, because they don't care enough about one another to use it properly."

Slowly, Link stepped down from the platform to rejoin his team. In a moment, though, he turned to Ruto, and said, "You just have to survive this last fight, and we'll have won."

Ruto nodded with a smile. Given the fact that all of her other teammates had won their battles, she wasn't too worried, and besides, her people needed her help. It was her duty to win that fight, no matter what kind of enemy she was going up against.

Ruto was curious, however, about the last fighter. When she'd been with her team, she always seemed to stand a fair distance away from them, as if they wanted nothing to do with her, and she felt the same way about them. Ruto had some suspicions about why that was, but she knew that if she wanted any of them confirmed, she was going to have to ask the young woman directly. That was why, as the two stepped up onto the platform, Ruto asked her question point-blank, without hesitation.

"Are you an outcast in your society?"

For a moment, the woman's eyes widened in shock, but at last, she replied in a voice that echoed, as though it was traveling out from the bottom of a well, and her tone seemed like it was lined with utter and complete hopelessness.

"Yes."

Ruto looked sadly at her for a few moments. That woman was acting as if she'd been far more badly scarred with the burden of being an outcast than Ruto could have ever been, and for a short time, she wondered whether that should have made her feel happy or sad.

"Why?" Ruto asked, her curiosity pushing aside her confusion for the time being.

The woman seemed angry and bitter at first, while she thought that question over, but eventually, despair drove her other feelings away, and she replied to Ruto carelessly.

"My mutation makes me a useless mate."

Ruto was taken aback by that reply, however. A useless mate? Link had mentioned that her people had no respect for the dignity of life in the world she came from, but was being a good mate really all that mattered in her society?

Ruto herself had become an outcast because having her around was inconvenient to those in power over her race. To some degree, she felt like she understood a part of that woman's pain, so after thinking it over for a moment, she replied to her new opponent.

"I'm also an outcast among my people. They decided that I was inconvenient to have around."

"In that case, you know that no physical pain can exceed the loneliness." the woman said grimly, starting to scowl more bitterly than ever, "I'm sure that will make both of us even more vicious in this fight."

"Neither one of us should be expecting mercy anyway." Ruto noted, however, her own frown growing deeper, and it was only then that she decided to introduce herself.

"I'm Ruto."

"I am Alato."

In a sense, Ruto was afraid to say any more than that, because she knew that it might make it too hard for her to fight with her enemy, so almost as soon as the introductions were finished, Ruto and Alato stepped into the teleporters, and found themselves somewhere new.

* * *

At the beginning of the battle, the two fighters were in what seemed to be a rainforest of some type when they reappeared. The air around them was hot and humid, and they were standing on the branches of enormous trees, easily a couple of hundred feet tall. The branches themselves were probably close to three feet wide each, and curved slowly enough that the only real threat to the two fighters was in the mossy growth that covered them, making them a bit more slippery than they would have been otherwise.

Ruto watched her enemy carefully, still with both fists tightly closed, sliding her feet back and forth along the moss, and stared in awe as the moss on the tree simply seemed to disappear under Alato's feet, along with part of the bark. Ruto could tell, as soon as she saw that, that she'd have to be very careful around that fighter. After all, if she could make things vanish so easily, it was entirely possible that a mere touch from her could kill. It was no wonder, Ruto realized, that she'd been viewed by her people as a poor choice for a mate. It was quite possible that she wasn't even capable of physical contact with another of her kind.

Ruto had some experience with the slippery rocks of beaches, so she had a fairly simple time standing, and even walking on the tree limbs with very little fear, and the moisture in the atmosphere, though not enough to rejuvenate her completely, like real water, was sufficient to give her an easier time breathing. She could tell that her enemy was hardly sweating at all, though, possibly being protected from the moisture by her powers. Ruto would need to watch out for that, because there might be even more aspects to her abilities, which she hadn't seen yet.

Carefully, Ruto leapt upward, and grabbed a small branch; about the size and thickness of a common club from above, then threw it directly at her foe, but to her horror, Alato simply reached up with one hand, as if to grab it, and the branch seemed to vanish into her palm just a moment later, with a sharp hiss.

Ruto had sort of been expecting something like that to happen, but it was still disappointing when her enemy actually did it. Somehow, Alato had the ability to nullify matter with a simple touch. Though she knew it wouldn't do much good, Ruto leapt to the ground, grabbed one of the nearest trees by its trunk, and with all the strength at her disposal, pushed it over in the direction of her enemy. Soon, both trees collapsed in a shower of leaves and brush, with Alato right in the middle of it all.

However, Ruto didn't stop, continuing forward, along the moist ground, as she looked back over her shoulder to see that an Alato-shaped hole in the fallen trees marked where the wood had vanished upon contact with her flesh. As she ran as fast as she could, Ruto struggled to come up with some kind of plan for defeating her new enemy. Alato was an enemy she'd never met, who could somehow destroy any matter that touched her, and probably had her powers on full blast since the fight had started. Ruto had to wonder for a moment if anything could stop a foe of that nature, before she heard a hissing sound from her left, and ducked just in time to avoid having her head erased, as Alato leapt over her with a quick swipe of one arm. In a pang of irrational curiosity, at that moment, Ruto reached up towards her enemy with a single finger, then moments later, dove backwards, into what remained of the underbrush.

The scales from the tip of Ruto's finger were missing when she pulled her hand back, and her fingertip itself looked like it had been cut by some horribly sharp blade of some kind, but the cut itself wasn't any thicker than the prick of a needle, and suddenly, Ruto began to understand why. Somehow, when she'd touched Alato lightly with her fingertip, nothing had happened. Ruto had even been able to feel the consistency of Alato's skin. The destruction had only happened when she'd tried to push harder than that, as though Alato's flesh was designed specifically to be handled with great care, and to destroy anything or anybody who didn't.

"That's why she isn't destroying the air around her." Ruto realized, and that, in turn, gave her another idea. She'd lost track of her enemy, but somehow, she could tell that she was being followed. Grabbing a thick branch, Ruto started to dash across the forest, searching for the one thing that she knew might still change the course of that fight.

At last, Ruto found it. She'd smelled it when she'd first entered the rainforest, and she knew what general direction it was in. It had just been a matter of searching for it. A little stream was running over the rocks, and through a tiny gutter made by natural erosion. The plants around it were more lush than the others in that section of the forest, and that was saying something. Just the sight made Ruto feel incredibly relieved, though, because once again, the source of her power was within her grasp.

"Water." Ruto thought to herself happily, "It's always found in the midst of the most beautiful life."

However, just then, Ruto could hear a hissing sound again, and dove to her left, narrowly dodging the leaping attack of Alato once more. However, that time, Alato didn't just fall to the ground past her. That time, she collided with the trunk of a tree, and her body plowed through it like an enormous cookie-cutter through dough, severing the tree trunk completely, and causing it to fall in Ruto's direction. Ruto didn't have enough time to dodge, so she reached up one hand, and threw the hardest punch she could with the other.

Two sections of the tree collided with Ruto's body at once, just a second later. One struck her fist, splintering both wood and bone upon impact, and one hit her leg, which tore through her scales and dry skin, and broke another bone. Striking out with her other hand, Ruto was able to slide free from under the mass of wood, but no matter how much she tried to ignore the pain, she found she couldn't move her left leg anymore.

Crawling along on her elbows, Ruto struggled to make it to the stream, but Alato was headed in her direction again from the other side, and Ruto could tell that if her enemy could beat her to the water, it was all over.

Alato was farther from the stream than the zora champion was, but she had the full use of her legs, and was running at top speed through all obstacles that got in her way. Ruto had only a few feet to travel, but that was harder to do by her elbows than it would have been on foot.

At last, Ruto reached the stream, when Alato was no more than a few yards away, and dipped her arms into it up to the shoulders. Immediately, she felt her muscles growing stronger in response to the water's presence, and her bones started to mend, but it was too late. Alato had nearly reached her, and as her foot entered the stream, Ruto instinctively covered her face with her arms, even though she knew that it would afford no protection from that strange, matter-erasing girl.

A scream echoed through the forest; a scream that had never been heard before on that world, and it was heard through the whole forest, and even above the trees. It was a scream of one who felt a terrifying, new kind of pain for the very first time. However, it wasn't the scream of Ruto.

Slowly, terrified of what she was going to see, Ruto looked up, and there was Alato, shrieking in agony, with her feet in the water, covered in a mass of blue energy, that seemed to be traveling through her body from head to toe. For a moment, the zora girl was stunned and confused, before she realized that that energy was coming from within her own body.

Ruto had heard tales, in the past, of zoras who could summon the powers of the eel to deliver a mighty electric shock through the water, but she'd never met one before, since the training necessary to learn that technique was apparently the most physically-painful there was. Somehow, though, Ruto had undergone that training without even realizing it. Having had all the scales on her body shattered by ice, and re-grown in her last fight must have had something to do with it, Ruto thought, but she suspected that a large part of it was her willingness to take responsibility for who and what she was; the mightiest zora of her kingdom, and the most fit to defend her race from their foes.

Tightening the muscles in her arms as much as she could, Ruto found that that increased the power of her electric attack, which traveled through the water, and into her enemy's body in a wave. At last, Alato's brain seemed to have been electrocuted, and she collapsed forward, and would probably have landed on Ruto, if the zora champion hadn't rolled to the side just in time to avoid being erased by contact with her enemy's body.

For a while, Ruto and Alato both lay in the water, one conscious, the other unconscious. The zora champion could tell what had happened, of course. Her enemy had been immune to all forms of physical attack. Her body destroyed all physical matter that pressed against it hard enough to constitute an attack, but energy was different. Her body couldn't erase pure energy, and the only tough part had been in getting that energy to reach her through some conductor without the conductor being destroyed. The only proper solution, as always, had been the source of Ruto's powers; the water.

Ruto felt the water's power continue to flow into her as her bones mended, and could see that the scales on her fingertip had grown back. Still, she was aching all over, as Ruto got to her feet, and was back on the battle platform, in time for the announcement that the team from Hyrule would be proceeding to the next round.

* * *

The Hyrule team had barely heard the announcement, although they understood its meaning well enough. They left by the exit, to return to their rooms a moment later, being told that it would be another three days before their next fight, at which point, only sixteen teams would remain in the conflict. None of them really cared, though. They were too busy pitying the champions who they'd just beaten, and the world that those champions hailed from. Something about their society had clearly been based on jealousy and lust. In a society based off of those kinds of desires, it was no wonder that true love couldn't survive.

"We can't do much to help them, though." Zelda remarked aloud, as the team re-entered the chambers that they'd been given to use during the conflict.

However, Link didn't feel right about just leaving it at that. There was, he knew, one thing that they could all still do.

"We can do what we were going to do to begin with." Link said after just a moment, "We can return all these worlds and champions to the way they were before this ridiculous conflict ever began. It won't solve the problems they have with one another, but it might give them the chance to face those problems themselves."

However, Ruto and Darunia weren't totally satisfied by that assurance. Stalflare was used to killing his enemies, but neither of them had really been hardened to battle until that conflict had started, and it was changing them for good. What if, they wondered, the same thing happened to the others, even after they were brought back to life? What if that conflict was really just teaching them to make war?

Link spent most of the next three days studying Darunia's hammers. He found it incredible that both were identical, and was interested in learning their secrets. Darunia went back to his own home in Goron City in the meantime, where he held a feast, and a time of rest and healing for himself and his people, though more to try to bring the spirit of fun back into his life, than out of the genuine need to renew his strength for the next fight.

Ruto, on the other end of the scale, spent a few hours in the pool in her room, and when she was satisfied that all of her physical injuries were gone, she traveled back to Lake Hylia, and entered the Water Temple. She had a plan, and that time, she wasn't going to whine that it was too hard. Being too hard was the whole point. If it wasn't too hard, after all, she'd never accomplish what needed to be done.

Stalflare, Zelda and Byrna spent most of those three days together, struggling to develop a new type of glass, strong enough to withstand powerful impacts, but each of them was also thinking hard, and in their minds, was developing a plan for new weapons, spells or ideas.

* * *

Mark's next stop on his delivery route, after having visited the Kokiri, was to travel to the river. However, because his cart was too large to travel up the riverside route, he had to leave it at the river's edge. As he walked up the Zora's River, towards the waterfall at its mouth, Mark could see that the water of the falls seemed to be opening open up on its own, and a Zora emerged from within a moment later. He was stunned, at first, by the sheer size and obvious toughness of the large fish-man, and was just as surprised by how normal its voice sounded when it spoke to him, a moment later.

"We've been expecting you. Tell us where your cart is, and we'll carry the vegetables inside."

As it turned out, in fact, that was exactly what they did. The zoras took the vegetables labeled with their insignia into their domain, and when they were all inside, the zora who'd been guarding the entrance looked Mark up and down, as if he wasn't sure what to do with him for some reason.

"May I come in?" Mark finally asked, tired of waiting for the zora guard to speak up first.

For a few moments, the zora seemed to be staring at Mark's ears, then finally said, "Oh, very well. We'll take care of your cart until it's time for you to leave."

That, it turned out, was the only invitation that Mark was going to receive, and after only a moment longer, he entered the domain of the zoras, sure that they'd prove to be a very interesting people.

* * *

As it turned out, the zoras were every bit as interesting as Mark had been expecting. They were the most beautiful, graceful creatures that Mark had ever seen, despite being what his people might consider giants. Most of the full-grown zoras exceeded eight feet in height, and many; especially their chiefs, were even bigger. Their homes were carved from the rock, and either filled or half-filled with water. They were a wonderfully-communal people, who didn't understand the hylian need for privacy. They hardly believed in any concept of acquisition at all, beyond the obtaining of food to eat, and when they slept, it was in or under the water of their domain, which, for them, was an experience of happiness and contentment beyond anything else.

The problem of finding an appropriate place for Mark to sleep was obvious from the start, but eventually, it was decided that Mark would sleep in the very edge of the shallowest part of the water, with his head out of it, on a bag of potatoes. The situation was hardly comfortable, but it was the best they could do on such short notice, and far more than they thought they should be expected to do. After all, zoras didn't use beds, and didn't see the point of having any around for guests, since hylians were so rarely invited into their domain anymore.

Despite the fact that they weren't as magnanimously-generous as the hylians, the zoras had a proud society that was all their own, which, Mark was told, had become more and more warlike in recent years, until just a few months before, when an event that they didn't talk about much had changed the opinions of most of the public. They generally distrusted both hylians and gerudos, and most of the reason they'd let him in so easily, was that they could see that he didn't belong to either race.

On the first night that he was there, Mark spoke to a few of the Zoras, and got the chance to experience some of their dishes; fish prepared in such a way that it tasted quite unlike, and indeed, better than any seafood he'd ever eaten. However, Mark got the feeling that the Zoras had begun to grow uncomfortable around him, and it didn't take him long to find out why.

On his second night among the zoras, the zora chief chose to do Mark the honor of inviting him to have dinner at his table, and as a person of not only remarkable physical size and strength, but almost unbelievable calculating intelligence and cunning, the zora chief was most curious about precisely who and what Mark was, and what his people were like. Mark gave a brief outline of all that, just like he had to Ramie during his first meeting with her, and then expanded on it when further explanations were demanded by his host.

At last, the zora lord had a basic understanding of humans; their economies and their egos, and what drove them to take the actions they did. There was only one other point that he wanted clarification on at the end of their discussion.

"Tell me." the zora chief said to Mark, "What kind of wars do you have?"

"My people have some of the most horrible wars imaginable." Mark admitted sadly, "War is the dark side of mankind, you see. Sometimes a war erupts between two nations, and they fight one another in battles filled with blood and fire."

"Describe those battles." the zora lord commanded, "What kind of weapons do you use?"

At that point, Mark engaged in a full explanation of guns and how they worked, which the zora lord compared to his trident, saying that it could, according to Mark's description of the weapons of his own race, fire beams powerful enough to decimate an entire battalion of human beings.

When he heard that, however, Mark quickly launched into explanations of battle armor, tanks, armor-piercing shells, night vision goggles, and then, into explanations of airplanes, missiles, bombs and radiation. As the zora lord listened to those explanations, however, he seemed to turn a shade paler.

"I have a question." the zora said at last, when it looked like Mark was finally wrapping up, "If a person in your world can simply press a button, and kill a hundred thousand men on the other side of the planet, doesn't he lose the flavor of battle from his lips? How does he preserve the feelings of horror and glory that come from combat?"

"Well," Mark replied with a shrug, rapidly losing confidence as he thought about that question, "he really doesn't. Those feelings are considered to be mostly a thing of the past. In the current world, war is just the murdering of thousands of people from a direction they can't defend themselves from, for whatever reason the war was started for."

"So, do you mean to tell me" the zora lord gasped aloud, "that your leaders know nothing of the heat of battle?"

"Nothing at all." Mark replied quickly, "In fact, I think that if our leaders were faced with a real battle, they'd probably hide behind hired guards rather than fight. That's just the way it's been since before I was born."

"I agree with what you said a moment ago." the zora lord finally concluded with a deepening scowl, "You do indeed have the most horrible wars. There's nothing that could justify that kind of butchery."

"Well, since hardly anybody in authority gets to see the horrors of war anymore," Mark explained, "justifying it becomes easier and easier. You see, when nobody can really see what goes on, they think of the people dying in wars as a bunch of faceless nobodies, or at worst, as a pack of wolves. Our government tells the people that their enemies are savages who all want to see them dead. They use that same argument, no matter what their reason is for engaging in a war, and it gets people scared enough to do just about anything."

"But those people who start the wars..." the zora lord continued incredulously, "I don't care what reasons they give to their people. What reasons do they use to convince themselves?"

That, Mark realized, was a darker subject, but he couldn't refuse to answer the zora chief; especially not about something that important.

"Oh, there are all kinds of reasons for starting a war." Mark explained quickly, "Starting wars makes sense to governments, because you gain the element of surprise that way. Motives can be almost anything, though. Maybe our enemy has been rude to us in the past, or has something we want, or maybe their philosophy on life, and their form of government is different from ours, and we want to impose our own form of government on them by force. Wars are started over religious beliefs, economic differences, political agendas, the plain and simple desire for some resource the other country has a lot of, and other things like that. A lot of wars aren't even fought over anything concrete. Why, there have been whole wars started that were absolute slaughter, just because one huge and mighty country was able to convince their people to be afraid of a smaller and much less powerful one, and simply being afraid of one another was enough of a reason to go to war..."

Mark continued on like that for some time, trying to explain all the complicated ingredients that led to a war. After the first few minutes, however, it became obvious that the zora lord no longer wanted to hear anymore, and when a whole ten minutes of those explanations had elapsed, he shouted "Oh, in the name of Nayru, SHUT UP!"

Everyone in the room fell silent when they heard that outburst. The zoras outside in the caverns obviously heard it too, and all the noise nearby just stopped at once. Even the water in the cavern seemed to be making less noise than it had been before.

"This discussion is over." the zora lord finally said, after having calmed himself down just a little, "I asked you for those explanations, and I apologize for that. It was wrong of me to request that, since I'm obviously not ready to hear it. There are clearly things about you and your origins that I neither want nor need to know about."

"But," Mark protested, "you must be able to see that the whole point of it all is..."

However, the zora lord refused to be disobeyed. In a burst of anger, he lifted his trident, and blasted a hole in the table, scattering the remains of the food all across the floor.

"I said that the discussion was over," the massive zora repeated viciously, "and that's what I meant. You're going to leave my domain this very night, because if you don't, I'm afraid I might lose my temper with you. Don't return here until you've stopped trying to defend the actions of those other wretches that your species seems to consist of."

Then, motioning to his guards, the zora lord watched as Mark was escorted from the room, and towards the waterfall, which led back to the Zora's River.

* * *

Mark hadn't spent a full two days among the zoras, but he'd hardly had much choice. It hurt his feelings that the zora lord had been unwilling to see past what he saw as flaws, but he still had a job to do. With sadness in his heart, Mark reclaimed his cart, and started off towards Gerudo Valley just a short time later.

Mark had heard that the gerudo were thieves, and the thought sent a chill up his spine. An entire race of thieves might be distasteful, or even dangerous to someone like him, despite the assurances of the former cart-man that they'd never attacked his cart directly. Still, he pressed onward, into possible danger, crossing a freshly-rebuilt, yet very sturdy-looking bridge, and arriving at the towering wooden gates of the Gerudo's Fortress by morning.

* * *

As soon as Mark had arrived at the enormous gates, he heard a shout from within, in a language that he didn't understand, and in no time at all, the massive, wooden gate began to rise upward, into a huge, metal housing that was positioned overhead. The thing must have weighed several tons, however, which chilled Mark almost to the bone, once he realized that the entire gate was being lifted up by a pair of large, thick ropes, manned by only four gerudo; two on each side. They must, Mark realized, have been inhumanly strong; stronger, in fact, than most men, and that only made him feel even more worried that each and every one of them was apparently a thief.

"Otah!" exclaimed one of the Gerudo once the gate was locked in place, gesturing to indicate that Mark should enter. As he passed under the shadow of the huge, wooden gate, though, he couldn't help but feel as though the entire fortress was one large cage; oppressively hot and dry, yet bright, and with blue skies, though a few sandstorms still raged to the west.

Almost at once, the gerudo queen emerged from her home to the north, to greet the newcomer. One of the guards made a disappointed sound, though, as she left Nabooru with Mark in a huff.

"Don't worry about her." Queen Nabooru remarked as she approached Mark with a sly smile on her face, "She's just upset that there was nothing to take from your pockets."

At once, Mark looked down, and noticed that, just as Nabooru had said, both of his pockets seemed to have been searched. He cursed over not having noticed before, but Nabooru just smiled, inviting him inside.

"You're my guest here now," she said, still grinning, "so there's no need for you to be afraid. No one will dare to steal from you while you're under my protection. Come on. I'll show you around. Perhaps you'll forgive us, once you've seen what kind of people we really are."

* * *

Indeed, by the end of four hours, everything had been forgiven. Mark had been given a grand tour of the fortress, and had seen just about everything there was to see, except, of course, for the forbidden chambers and the Spirit Temple.

The gerudo were a very unique people; rowdy and tough in private and in community gatherings, but when they were on the job, there was no one more serious or down-to-business. They imposed a behavioral strictness on themselves, which Mark had never seen the likes of in his life. Their species was made entirely of women, but he'd never seen women like that before. They had tan skin, long, red hair and, he calculated as best he could, about twice the strength and power of an average human male. Each was trained from birth in the art of combat, and in basic knowledge; in math, reading, writing, speech, and some simple physics. However, the most important of all their lessons was that they were taught to value honor.

"To us, honor is everything." Nabooru explained to Mark during the tour, "It tells us that we're still civilized creatures, and it gives us a motive to continue following the rituals of our society."

Indeed, that seemed to be the case. All rituals and other practices in the gerudo society were upheld almost solely through honor. In fact, almost all major courses of action taken by the gerudo over the past couple of years had apparently been taken because they were the most honorable ones.

"Then why does the world view you as thieves?" Mark asked, as they walked towards Nabooru's house again, once the tour was finishing up.

"Because we are." Nabooru replied frankly, "It's one of the many tests which we use to determine honor."

"Are you suggesting that thievery is honorable?"

"Very much so, but more importantly, overcoming one whom you have reason to prove yourself against is one of the most honorable things one can do. Thievery is an integral part of our honor code. We steal from others, not because we feel malice towards them, but to prove our superiority in a fashion that's one of the most honorable there is."

"But why thievery? Why not a game like chess, or some form of gambling?"

"There's nothing at stake in simple games, so one competitor might simply choose not to claim victory. The test would be unfair. As for gambling, life itself is a gamble. There are really only two things that make a fair contest; thievery and assassination."

"So you picked thievery. Fair enough." Mark realized with a nod of stunned recognition, "I guess that considering what your people want out of life, it really is the best way to do things."

"Of course," Nabooru replied with a casual air, "but let's put all of that aside for now. We don't discuss non-recreational subjects during supper."

* * *

In that respect, Nabooru was as good as her word. "Supper" turned out to be a community feast at a long table, with food of all sorts. The gerudo served a series of dishes, which resembled cactus served in some unusual ways, but they were all at least palatable, even if they weren't all delicious. They were also serving several trays of snack-sized edibles, which resembled the insides of clams, but tasted more like a steak preserved in salt. They served two types of drinks, as well. One tasted something like taco sauce, and the other seemed to sting sharply around the tongue for a few seconds, but both instantly erased all thirst with even the slightest sip. Mark could immediately tell during that feast that whatever else the gerudo valued, sugar wasn't one of their favorite tastes.

As dinner continued on, several of the gerudo began to speak in broken hylian, which seemed to have most of its basic root words in common with english, and began to crack jokes of a very rowdy sort. Mark correctly supposed that his input in that sort of discussion would be welcome, and joined in the joking. He came out of that room laughing just like everyone, and got compliments from several gerudo on his sense of humor, to which he just replied "You need a good sense of humor if you want to make it through life."

That evening, Mark seemed to have fit right in with the gerudo, and Nabooru had obviously been glad to have him around.

The next day, before the midday lunch shifts; the half-hour intervals that the gerudo took their lunch during, switching back and forth, so that there was always someone to work at midday, Nabooru approached Mark and spoke to him, looking very curious.

"Mark," Nabooru began with a casual grin, "you're a personable fellow, but I'm a little concerned. I don't want to grow attached to you if I'm not sure we can count on you as one of us."

Mark was extremely flattered by that comment, of course. The offer that he was apparently being made was nothing short of extraordinary for someone who'd grown up outside of Gerudo Valley.

"I'm flattered." Mark admitted with a smile, "Do I need to do something to prove that I'm trustworthy, or something like that?"

"Well," Nabooru continued, looking deep in thought for a moment, "We have a few things in common with the hylians here in Gerudo Valley, and one is that we value the truth very deeply. I'd like you to answer me some questions truthfully, if you can."

"I'll do that to the best of my abilities, oh Queen." Mark replied, trying to be as genteel as possible, since he was faced with royalty.

"Good." Nabooru replied slowly, thinking over what she wanted to say next as best she could, "For starters, I've heard that your people come in both male and female, like hylians do. Is it true that you reproduce through a union of both, just like them?"

"Well, no." Mark admitted, "We're not exactly like hylians. Our marriage rituals tend to last for a few hours. The hylian rituals, as I understand them, are much shorter."

"We gerudo reproduce through a complicated ritual, which lasts about an hour, in which both magic and the power of the spirit combine to form a new being." Nabooru explained, "Are you saying that all children need to wait for hours before being conceived?"

"No, nothing like that." Mark said, smiling nervously, thanks to the odd discussion topic the queen had chosen, "Not all of them. A man and woman are united for the rest of their lives in a ceremony that lasts over an hour, and some more celebratory rituals that tend to last several more hours after that, then usually within a few days after that, the child is conceived. But the same couple can conceive another if they want to later on, without having to perform the marriage ceremony again."

"There are also some people who go against tradition," Mark continued, "and conceive in a very short time, and without the rituals. Sometimes, a child is conceived in less than fifteen minutes. Those people are frowned upon in my society, though; sometimes even by their parents."

"Because it's dishonorable to break from a sensible tradition." Nabooru observed.

"Right." Mark replied, "If you don't have reliable, married parents to raise the child, the kid's going to have lots of problems. That's the reason why the tradition was formed to begin with, so sometimes, if the pregnant woman isn't married, she'll be pressured by her parents, her friends, or by her own worries to get the baby aborted before it's born."

"What's an aborted?" Nabooru asked, looking very curious for a moment, although Mark could tell that she wasn't going to like the answer to that question.

"Well, it's an operation that's performed after the child is conceived, but before it's born." Mark tried to explain, "Very few people have ever seen one performed, but basically, the child is physically destroyed before it can mature into a newborn, then extracted from the body of the mother in pieces."

Nabooru stood still in perfect silence for several moments, before remarking, "Barbarism, and a clear type of assassination. What could one possibly have to prove to a defenseless child? There can't be any honor in that kind of thing. Surely, it must be an extremely rare practice."

"Oh, no." Mark replied, shaking his head quickly, "Not at all. In fact, it's been done over fifty million times in recent history."

That time, there was no hesitation at all. Nabooru spat into the sand at her feet, though it was dried up by the hot afternoon sun almost at once.

"You seem to get some cruel pleasure from saying these things, which are plainly untrue." the queen said in irritation, "No sane species would annihilate their own next of kin. That lowers the species birth rates, and weakens them against attack."

Mark could have replied to that, or tried to argue with Nabooru about it, but for the moment, he decided that it might be best to just drop the subject instead.

"My next question is this." Nabooru continued, starting to look a little frustrated, "What's the real nature of romance? We don't have romance among the gerudo."

That was also a sensitive subject, but in the presence of a queen, Mark felt that it would only be right to answer the question as quickly as he could.

"Romance is a series of behaviors that couples use to attempt to please one another, both before and after marriage." Mark explained quickly.

"And your people practice romance mostly for the purpose of procreation, I'm sure." Nabooru guessed, but soon, Mark was shaking his head again.

"No, not really. Mostly, it's for personal pleasure. Romance is a pleasant thing to humans, and a lot of people practice it even if they can't procreate together."

"That's something I just can't understand." Nabooru said, starting to scowl again, "If two people couldn't procreate, like two gerudo, for example, then surely, they'd devote themselves to other, more constructive businesses, to strengthen their species, instead of spending time on a practice that can only weaken them."

"Well, you might think that," Mark admitted, feeling a little sheepish again, "but most people are too concerned with how they feel to really care about what happens to their species."

Nabooru spat into the sand again, with slightly more force, and by that point, she looked downright angry as she asked her final question.

"What of honor, then? Does honor have no place in your world either?"

"Our worlds are very different from one another." Mark replied with a depressed sigh, shrugging just a little, "In my world, people see honor as quaint, but mostly unremarkable and arbitrary; like it doesn't really matter. In fact, the term 'honor system' is often used to mean 'a method that doesn't really work.'"

Nabooru closed her mouth up tightly at that point, however, and turned away from Mark with both arms folded. For a moment, he thought that she was crying, but as he took a step closer, to try to comfort her, he heard her give him a very direct order.

"Stay right where you are and let me speak."

Mark stopped in mid-step, and remained where he was very obediently, remembering his experience with the zora lord, and not wanting to see it repeated.

"In Gerudo Valley, we value our young," Nabooru explained testily, "because we know they're our flesh and blood; alive both within and separate from ourselves. They're the future of our civilization when they're young, and it's present when they get to be our age. Children are our most important natural resource. Flesh is the strongest thing in the world, because it brings forth dedication, spirit, and enthusiasm for honor. No gerudo mother would ever be sad to find herself a grandmother, because we take pride in what we are, and we act with honor; honor above all else!"

As she said that, Nabooru turned to face Mark, and he could see a great sadness in her eyes, even before she continued, "Because of that, I do what's honorable, and I give you one more day to remain among my people. Just as I've promised, I'll stand by my word. During that day, you won't see me, and I ask you to please not speak of your society to any more of my people. Though your people don't value honor, I hope that you'll at least care enough about us to respect my wishes."

Then, Nabooru started back towards her great, clay house, and almost as soon as she was out of sight, Mark fell to his knees, and started to cry into the sand.


	13. Pt2 Ch5 The Dark Side of the Gerudo

Chapter 5: The Dark Side of the Gerudo

* * *

The last two times that the team from Hyrule had shown up at the transport area for battle, they'd been very professional and organized about it, to an almost superhuman degree. On the day of their third team battle, however, things were far from orderly.

Link had given Darunia his hammers back on practically the morning of that very day, leaving the goron boss with less than an hour to practice using them. Link himself had been later in arriving than the rest of the team by close to three minutes because, as he said, he'd needed to do some cleaning up. Stalflare looked as though he was distracted by something, and Zelda was very tired when she appeared. Byrna, in fact, was the only one who seemed to be in top shape for the fight.

The real surprise was Ruto, who was actually unconscious when she was carried into the transport area by Stalflare. Zelda noted, at the time, that she'd found Ruto drifting through the waters of Lake Hylia, and retrieved her through telekinesis that very morning. At the time, Ruto had been covered in bruises, and Zelda had needed to use quite a bit of her power to heal her, even with the help of the water that naturally rejuvenated the zora champion's body.

Stalflare, after having heard what was happening to Ruto, had made a careful examination of her, having half suspected that she might be preparing for a meditation like the kind he'd gone through before his transformation into a greide zwooda, but he found that she was merely drained. Not physically, of course, since none of the peoples of Hyrule could be drained by simple physical exertion, but rather, the aura that usually surrounded her body had begun to dim, and it seemed to be trying to repair itself as she slept. At the time, Stalflare had to wonder if she'd been ambushed, or if she'd done that to herself deliberately for some purpose that he couldn't fathom at all.

With the exception of Guardian, all of Hyrule's enemies up to that point had been basically humanoid in appearance, but as Link and his team looked over their new enemies, they could see only two humanoids among them, and only just barely. One of their enemies was an eight-foot, hound-shaped creature, which seemed to be made of earth. Another was a twelve-foot creature with several massive horns protruding from the front and sides of its head, and with four arms and two legs.

Beside those was what seemed like a seven-foot, beautiful woman in a long, flowing robe, which seemed to be made of opaque bubbles. She had aqua-green skin, and hair that looked almost glass-like, and her eyes seemed to almost be made from water.

Next to her was another twelve-foot tall creature, which appeared to have been made from metal. It walked on two legs, and sported two claw-like hands, but its face was strangely colored, as if designed to look like a metal human, but much larger, with massive shoulders, chest, legs, and very long, thin arms. Its skin looked like glitter as they stared at it.

Next to that construct were the two humanoids. One was a man; grey-haired, but young and bare down to the waste, where he wore a pair of blue pants, tattered at the ankles, but he also had a strangely dignified air for someone wearing such shabby clothes. The other was what appeared to be a woman; hunched over like an ape, but her back, hands and hair more closely resembled the quills of a porcupine; only much larger and sharper.

Immediately, Link turned to look at Zelda, as if to ask the obvious question, but she sighed sadly after only a moment.

"Link," she remarked pitiably, "I just can't. Most of my magic is totally spent, and they're guarding their minds really well. I'm afraid I can't tell you much about them."

Link nodded sadly in response to that. After all the energy that Zelda had used to heal Ruto, it seemed that she just wasn't at her peak, and that worried him quite a bit. It certainly wasn't going to make any of their fights any easier; especially Zelda's.

"It doesn't matter, anyway." Darunia remarked firmly a moment later, "I'll be first."

Link sighed when he heard the goron boss say that. It was a pity, he thought, that the fight couldn't be postponed, until Zelda could get her strength back. Still, as things were, Darunia seemed to be as good a choice to go first as any. He could only hope that the fighter they'd send against him would be something he could deal with.

Still, Link wondered, which fighter would they use against the enormous, rocky warrior? If they'd been reasonable strategists, they might have sent the stone beast; to fight rock with rock in a sense. Truly ingenious strategists might use the water woman, to try to take advantage of his clear weakness to water. However, Link was more than a little surprised to see that it was the shirtless, young man who seemed to be making the calls on the opposing team, and he gave a short command to the porcupine woman in just a moment.

Soon, she'd climbed up onto the platform on her hands and feet, crawling like a cat or squirrel. Link got a better look at her as she and Darunia faced one another a second after that, but she didn't seem intelligent enough to form words or gestures, or really, to express herself at all. In her eyes, she had the look of a tiger in a circus, which jumps through rings when commanded to, but will spring to the kill if ordered, so she and Darunia didn't exchange any words, before "jumping through the rings" that teleported them elsewhere.

* * *

Darunia was old enough that when he'd been a little boy, his grandfather had been able to tell him the tales of how the first King of Hyrule had brought their land out of the Great Chaos. Nevertheless, he'd experienced a relatively static set of emotions during his life, from joy and happiness, to sadness and heartbreak, but he'd only rarely been truly angry with someone.

Darunia's fight with Eranod had made him quite angry, and his fight with the demoness Norowon had made him very sad. However, seeing someone before him who seemed to be nothing more than a trained beast, Darunia once again felt that he was on comfortable ground. He, like all gorons, had been on the hunt before, and chased down beasts with his powers.

It was a practice, every decade or so, for gorons to descend into the lower areas to the north of Death Mountain, and catch a beast of some sort; dead or alive. The living beasts would usually be returned to the lands they came from, and the dead ones were usually given to the hylians for food. The hunt was a practice designed to keep the gorons in decent shape, but it had been falling out of style over the past few decades. Still, Darunia was familiar with it, and he knew that chasing a non-sentient beast was generally harmless, so long as it wasn't a very rare beast. Even a beast that looked something like a hylian, he realized, wouldn't be all that different.

Darunia looked around his new surroundings carefully at first. He could see a pretty, wooden cabin off to the left, and a forest to the right. A few miles beyond the cabin, the expanse of a large, metal city stretched out, but he could barely see it, because it was raining so heavily. His enemy, however, was only a yard or two away, so he could see her just fine. She seemed confused by the rain, but pleased by the sight of the trees. He could tell that she was probably one of a kind, and very rare, even in her own home-world, but the feeling as though that was just another ordinary hunt was still stirring in him. Darunia didn't feel all that bad about fighting that particular opponent.

Swiftly, the goron curled up into a ball, and rolled towards his enemy as fast as he could, intending to plow right over her in an instant, but at the last moment, he stopped short and turned aside, because he could see that she was rushing towards him on all fours, like a wolf, as if Darunia wasn't dangerous to her at all.

Darunia knew that all wild animals had a survival instinct, and considering her behavior, she had to be impervious to the kind of rolling attack that he'd been using. At least, he thought, it would be a good idea to test whether she really was invulnerable, before ramming into her himself.

Swiftly, the goron champion uncurled, and grabbed a nearby tree by the trunk, then, with every ounce of his mighty goron muscles, he uprooted it with his bare hands, and swung it around at his foe. However, despite the guesses he'd made already about his enemy, Darunia was still horrified as he watched the tree collide with her skin, and splinter into razor-sharp fragments, which flew away from her in all directions.

Instantly, Darunia dropped his end of the tree, and grabbed a large rock from nearby, throwing it at her too, but the rock suffered the same fate, splintering into fragments so sharp, that a tiny one; about the size of a pebble, tore right through the side of his leg when it rebounded towards him.

The goron winced in horrifying pain, before seeing that his enemy had raised both hands, and suddenly, needle-like projectiles flew towards him from her direction. Moving as fast as he could, Darunia rolled up into a ball again, and dodged back and forth out of the path of the needle spray, ducking behind another tree.

By that point, he was starting to get very scared. After all, he'd originally assumed that he could have beaten her easily, but if he'd followed through with his first attack, he would have died very messily; suffering the same fate as the boulder she'd just been hit with. It was easy to see just how an enemy that lethal could make it to the conflict's third round.

Once Darunia had put some distance between himself and his enemy, however, he dug out both of his hammers, and shoved one into the ground, bringing it up with a sudden violence, which caused the earth nearby to be uprooted, and fly in the direction of the porcupine-looking woman. However, she slashed the dirt aside with her claws, and proceeded directly forward, as if she herself were a massive needle, being fired with enormous velocity through a sheet of paper. It had certainly take Darunia some time, but that was when he started to realize the true nature of her powers.

"Everything about her is razor-sharp." Darunia noticed at last, "her skin must be jagged and pointed in the smallest, sharpest way, and it allows her to bore right through any obstacle or attack I send towards her. There might even be some enchantment involved to reinforce that. Against someone with physical attacks, like mine, that kind of power is devastating."

Once again, Darunia rolled up into a ball and began to speed away from her, trying to think up a plan. She chased him with speed beyond what any wolf could summon. For a while, they matched each other in speed, before Darunia stormed into the nearby city, and began to damage its outer streets with his rolling, stone body. Knowing that his foe's attacks were impossible to block, Darunia looked around for a weapon that could harm her. The feeling of the hunt was totally gone by that point, and he suddenly felt a horrible fear, as thought he were racing the grim reaper, trying to dodge an enemy who was both invincible and invulnerable for as long as possible.

She was only a few yards away, but Darunia could see one way of slowing her down. Swiftly, he wedged both of his hands into the ground, and cracked it apart. Fortunately, she started to trip the moment that he created that earth tremor, and it bought him a few extra seconds. Carefully, he looked around, and listened, trying to find some weapon to use against his enemy, and at that point, he heard a sound that was both fearful for all gorons, and quite possibly salvation for him. It was the sound of running water.

Soon, Darunia could see that a metal grating nearby was overflowing with water from the rain. Stooping over, he took some of the water in his hands. Gorons sank like stones in deep water, so they always avoided it, but he felt as though water was his only defense, since it couldn't be shattered or severed by her skin, if only he could find some way to use it as a weapon.

With both powerful hands, the goron boss tore up the grating and looked underneath it. There, he could see a water flow, and a trench underground, serving as a waterway. Several pipes went back and forth underground, which were making the sound of running water that he'd heard before.

Darunia could see that his enemy had liberated herself from the cracked cement that had tripped her before, and at once, a plan occurred to him. Rushing forward along the street, he watched her carefully, as she galloped towards him, feeling out the concrete underneath him, and the vibrations beneath it in a way that only beings made of stone could. At the last second, he reached underground, and yanked up a pipe, tearing it cleanly in two, so that a huge amount of liquid came out of it like a fire hose, ramming directly into his foe, and sending her flying backwards into a brick wall, which her skin splintered to pieces on impact. Soon, she was falling even further back, onto to a carpeted floor that had been behind the wall.

However, something about the fight had changed by that point, and it wasn't just that Darunia had gotten the upper hand. He'd seen something in the girl's eyes when she'd been hit with the liquid stream; which had turned out to be some kind of refined oil, rather than water. The goron champion saw a deep sadness in the girl's eyes, as if she was aware, on some level, of who and what she was, but couldn't focus on it too hard. There was even a sort of rebellion in those eyes; against the forces that had made her that way. Darunia had, for a moment, seen a glimmer of intelligence in the face of his enemy. His simple sort of insight set him guessing about why that was at once, though. After all, what if she'd been born an intelligent creature? What if her mutations had robbed her of that somehow, through...?

"Through pain." Darunia guessed aloud, coming to the only conclusion that he could, because surely, if every part of her body were razor-sharp, her every movement must feel like being scraped against a hundred needles. Still, she must also have be built in such a way that that pain didn't injure her, exactly. She must have been in constant agony, all the time, without ever being in danger of suffering injury or death, no matter what she collided with. That was when he truly felt sorrow for that poor girl, because he couldn't imagine a worse kind of life than that.

Darunia felt horrible sadness and pity again, just like he had with his last opponent, and as he could see that his foe had gotten to her feet again, he knew that there was no way to make that pity go away. All that was left was to win the fight for the sake of his people, and hope that he could forgive himself when all was said and done.

Wielding his hammers, Darunia brought them down on the ground with incredible force, causing sparks to fly. In seconds, the oil had ignited, and the goron boss had just enough time to roll up into a ball again, before the poor girl burst into flames.

* * *

"I won." Darunia muttered to himself, as he re-appeared on the transport platform, "I won the fight."

However, in his heart, Darunia wasn't convinced that he'd won anything worth winning, and the girl, of course, didn't reappear.

Darunia kept his eyes halfway closed in pity and grief, as he seated himself near his team. He felt as though all the years of joy in his life had been wasted, and only Byrna seemed ready to offer him her condolences about it.

"Relax." she said, with pity in her voice for the victor of that tragic fight, "It's over for now. The next one will be mine."

* * *

It saddened Byrna to see Darunia brought so low by those kinds of experiences. The things that had happened to him recently were probably the most painful things for any goron's psyche, and she was afraid that he might emerge from that conflict in a much worse condition, even if he did make it through alive. Stalflare had apparently grown stronger from the experiences he'd gone through in those fights, and Byrna couldn't really imagine Link getting much stronger than he was already, but Ruto and Zelda were obviously exhausted, and Darunia's mood seemed to be darkening more and more as the fights went on.

As for Byrna, aside from her progressive understanding of technology, she was the only member of the team who seemed to have remained almost exactly the same through the entire affair; someone whose shame over the foolishness of their youth was driven back only by her boundless self-confidence in her current abilities and her desire to be better than anybody else at something. Still, she could never let anyone see who she really was. Not all of her armor was outside her body.

Byrna stepped slowly up to the platform, where the beautiful water woman from the other team joined her in just a moment, and introduced herself in only a moment.

"I'm Byrna." the champion from Hyrule said without even a grain of enthusiasm.

"I'm Nemat." the water woman replied, just as emotionlessly.

Without a word more, they both stepped into the teleporters to do what had to be done, and Byrna, for some reason, found herself wondering what it would be like to be content with who she was, at the very moment when she disappeared.

* * *

As soon as she re-appeared, Byrna found herself trying to hold her balance in the middle of an ice flow. Nemat was nowhere to be seen, though. Byrna lowered herself slowly to the ice under her feet, and when she was sure that she could keep from slipping, she activated her helmet, and leapt forward. The jets of fire that, mere days before, had been her means of mid-air propulsion, had been re-designed over the course of the last three days, as jets of pressurized air, which her devices refilled themselves with regularly, so that if she were to dive underwater, they'd absorb water instead of air. That way, her armor could propel itself forward in virtually any environment that she wanted to travel through.

Leaping into the air, Byrna began to search around for her enemy, but as she looked around below her, she neglected, for quite some time, to look up. Soon, however, she began to hear a deafening roar, and that was when Byrna finally glanced upward, just in time to see waves of tidal force and enormous size starting to bare down on her. At once, struggling to fly higher, Byrna got out of range of the first wave just in time, but even as she moved further upward, she found that she was being pursued by what looked like huge waterspouts. Somehow, the water had taken on a life of its own. From all sides, she could see strange bubbles forming in the waves, and she was finding it harder and harder to dodge their assault.

Byrna fired off her air guns as fast as she could, but they had absolutely no effect on the water at all, so she switched to her flame weapons. However, even that was like trying to squash a moose with a flyswatter. Her fire was evaporating some of the water, but it wasn't enough to make a significant difference. In spite of her panic, Byrna struggled to think of a new method of attacking her enemy, as she weaved in and out of the attacks of the waves. Obviously, she needed to find Nemat and defeat her somehow, but it seemed as if Nemat was hiding in the water, and that was going to make it about a hundred times harder to figure out where she was.

As she pondered that puzzle, Byrna twisted around in mid-air, to avoid a series of water tentacles, and dove directly downward to fake out her foe, then plunged between some more "rough water" to try to find a clue as to the whereabouts of her enemy. If only, she thought, she could at least find some kind of haven from those attacks, and maybe some raw materials to make a weapon with, she might be able to work out a plan of some kind, but there was so much water, that she was afraid she'd never be able to escape it all.

As soon as the water around Byrna paused for a moment in its attack, she flew directly up, until she could see for miles around her. At last, after searching for quite some time, she was able to find a continent to the west, and shot towards it like a bullet through the air. The waves got rougher as she continued on, and she had to keep deflecting their attacks with a combination of skillful maneuvers and her flame thrower, but for a while, they still kept getting closer and closer to plucking her from the sky.

At last, Byrna soared inland, and began weaving between trees, rocks and small buildings, as the water attempted to follow her. After a time, however, she found that it had begun to slow down. The water of that world, it seemed, was very great, but not limitless. She could see that it no longer had the mass it needed to reach that far inland, and that it was pulling back, as if to rethink its strategy somehow. She, in turn, had to rethink her own as well, in the face of such a horrifying enemy.

As Byrna looked around, trying her best to develop a new strategy, she noticed traces of unusual elements in the rocks nearby. At once, she got an idea, and activated her flame-thrower, starting to melt the very rocks around her, and watching the elements of the rock meld into a new form as they melted.

As Nemat seemed to be struggling to draw more water into her range of influence, Byrna rushed to finish building something that she'd only barely conceived of before; a way of amplifying the effects of one of her existing weapons. The hands of her armor began boring into the rock around her for the elements she needed, spinning like small drill bits into the stone, and extracting the necessary materials, moments before they could be melted. At last, Byrna had the needed elements, and began to use her armor and flames to mould them into a usable shape. Her work took close to two hours, and by the end of that time, the waves that surrounded the continent she'd attempted to escape into had grown to an enormous height, and seemed to be ready, at any moment, to crash right down on top of her.

The device that Byrna had made was shockingly simple. It consisted of nothing more than a series of large, tempered lenses positioned over the flame thrower on her left hand by stone rods. With those, she could ignite the smallest fire in her flame thrower, and it would create a beam of light and heat so powerful, that it could melt almost anything. She couldn't use her flames at full power anymore, or she'd melt her new weapon too, but she had a feeling that she wouldn't need to; at least not yet. Soon, Byrna had attached the amplifier to her armor, and rushed towards the towering waves, firing her weapon as fast as she could.

The device did its work well. A controlled laser was projected right in front of her. Wherever it hit, nearly a square yard of water was boiled into vapor, and since she used it as a beam of light for the most part, no water could advance far enough to reach her. At last, however, a tentacle made of liquid reached behind her, and tried to gum up her machine, and if struggling to locate the weakness in her device. However, Byrna just smiled, when she realized what her enemy was trying.

Just as Nemat's watery body had reached inside of Byrna's device, a powerful electric shock coursed through the entire flame thrower, as well as Nemat herself. Byrna had been expecting her enemy to try something like that, and had placed a backup program into her machine, intended to cause a power surge if anything tried to interfere with it. At once, the whole ocean seemed to crackle with electricity, and Nemat was flung from its waves onto the beach, looking absolutely stunned by that turn of events.

"No more of this." Byrna insisted, disconnecting the flame thrower on her left arm, which had been broken by the power surge anyway, "You leave the ocean alone, and I'll stop using my laser. This is just between you and me."

Even before Byrna had finished making that statement, however, Nemat's shape had begun to change, forming into a vaguely-humanoid glob of a water-like substance, and it seemed to be moving quickly along the ground, as if it were a running stream. That was when Byrna realized that even without the ocean at her disposal, Nemat was hardly much less dangerous.

Byrna tried to take flight immediately, but her enemy had seized her by the leg in no time, and hurled her through a collection of trees, shattering her new crystal helmet, and the trunks of numerous palms, but thankfully, not her head. Byrna only came to a stop outside of a cottage, where she could see three people on the roof, as if expecting another flood, staring directly up in awe. Obviously, she realized, their fight had been very dangerous to the bystanders, and yet, she knew that if she lost, that could be countless times more dangerous.

Quickly, however, Byrna followed the gaze of the three people on the roof, to see that Nemat was in the air, having shaped most of her body into bubbles. In only a moment after that, she re-solidified, descending onto Byrna again, and would probably have cracked her head open from sheer momentum if Byrna hadn't ducked out of the way just in time, firing the flame-thrower on her right hand.

Nemat seemed to feel the pain of the device, since the flames had grazed her along one of her tentacles, but she was moving too fast for a direct hit. Soon, a hundred axe-shaped protrusions were extending from Nemat's watery body, and driving directly at Byrna's back. Byrna flinched as the watery axes cleaved her armor open, and broke the air tanks she used in underwater environments. However, although Byrna's armor was suffering horrible damage again, it seemed that Nemat was losing some ground too. Before the watery warrior could react, the pressurized air from Byrna's tanks had forced itself into her body, sending large bubbles through her, and forcing her back again. Spinning around, Byrna fired her flame thrower one last time, praying that she'd be able to hit her enemy while she was stunned.

The air in that location had grown humid from the evaporating water, and that last blast from the flame-thrower was all the energy that Byrna had left. It evaporated all she could see of Nemat, so she couldn't possibly have been expecting another attack. In fact, Byrna might have even thought, for a moment, that she'd won.

* * *

Nemat, gasping and panting from the loss of liquids, materialized from one last puddle behind Byrna's back. She was less than half of her previous size, and her power was almost gone, but she still had a means to win. Spreading her smaller body out as far as it would go, Nemat dove head-last into Byrna's mouth before she could even realize what was happening. For a few seconds, Byrna seemed to gurgle out a scream, but in a little while, even that couldn't be heard any longer, and she stopped writhing and struggling. When Byrna's eyes finally closed, and her body was still, Nemat emerged from her, drawing out all the parts of herself that she'd recently forced into Byrna's lungs. It was a dirty way to win, but it had been the only option she'd had left.

* * *

When Byrna was returned to her team, Link examined her carefully. She'd started breathing again, almost as soon as Nemat had emerged from her body. That was uncommon, but then, it wasn't normal for water to pull itself back out of someone's lungs either.

Link was pleased to see that Byrna would survive to fight again, but their team had still lost their second fight, and although neither combatant was in any condition to rush from the teleport area once the team battle was over, it was hardly a good omen for the conflict to come.

Frowning, Link turned back to the remaining fighters on his team, feeling a lot worse about what had to be done after that.

"Who's next?"

"I am." Zelda replied quickly, standing up from where she'd been sitting, legs crossed on the ground.

"Are you sure?" Link asked, feeling even more worried as he remembered what Zelda had said about having expended all of her magic, "Has your strength come back?"

"As much as can be expected." Zelda replied with a grim look, which told Link that a few more hours of rest would make no difference at all, "It might be best if I finish my fight right now. We can decide where to go next from there."

Link didn't like the sound of that last sentence, but as always, he let her go. Zelda knew what she needed to do, and as always with the princess, she had her duty.

As Zelda walked up to the platform, however, Byrna started to regain consciousness, and almost immediately, she started gasping out words, trying to get the attention of one person in particular.

"Da... Darun... ia..."

The goron had been sulking for the whole time that Byrna had been in combat with Nemat, but when she asked for him, he stood up at once. After all, Darunia still wanted to honor his teammates, no matter how badly he felt. Moments later, in slow, exhausted speech, Byrna spoke to Darunia again, and her words surprised him quite a bit.

"We're two sides of a coin, Darunia... You won a fight, but lost a part of yourself... For me, it's different... I feel... free... after having lost..."

Darunia tried to put on a smile in response to that, but as much as his teammate seemed to be trying to cheer him up, he just couldn't be consoled. After all, what she'd just said was true; he'd lost a very important part of himself in his last fight.

As Zelda stepped up to the teleportation platforms, she found herself opposite the metal man she'd seen earlier, with the broad shoulders and chest, and the long arms. It stood before her with a glazed look in its eyes, as though not really caring about anything that went on around it, so she attempted to introduce herself to it as best she could.

"I'm Zelda; Princess of Hyrule. Who are you?"

"PE0526." it replied in a cold, metallic voice.

"That's quite a name." Zelda observed, all thoughts of smiling disappearing in a moment, "Can I just call you Peece?"

"Peece?" the machine asked, as though interested, but not worried by her suggestion.

"Okay." Zelda replied with something resembling a grin as she took his reply as a form of consent, then she stepped into her teleporter, and watched as Peece stepped into his. In moments, they were somewhere else, although Zelda had a feeling that the name she'd given to her new enemy wouldn't turn out to fit him at all.

* * *

Zelda and Peece found themselves on a road in a very cold environment of some sort. There was grass on either side of the paved road, but no snow anywhere, fortunately. Still, it was frigid out, and Zelda had a feeling that that wasn't going to make her fight any easier. Peece didn't seem effected by the change in temperature at all, and Zelda, though she felt the cold, bore the pain as well as she could.

"Can I ask you something before we begin?" Zelda said quickly, in spite of the harsh temperatures.

Peece didn't reply to that first question, however, so Zelda merely decided to ask her real question, "What do you stand for? What's your purpose?"

"I was made" Peece recited almost instantly, "to bring glory and fame to Doctor Thomas Baxter."

However, that reply hardly made Zelda feel any better, and a moment later, she was looking very sad, when she said, "The only reason you were made was for the glory?"

"In my observations" Peece replied flatly, "that's typical of all sentient life."

By that point, Zelda's sad look had deepened, reaching down into her soul. Part of the reason her people continued to struggle on with their lives was that they worked for some moral principle; something larger than their own accomplishments. It seemed, however, that Zelda's robotic enemy came from a world where people only did things out of ambition, and if so, then he and his team were just as tragic as any of the other fighters that Zelda had seen in that conflict.

Zelda had no time to ponder that, however, because the fight had begun in moments. Peece's left arm sprouted blades from its elbows and fingertips, and its right arm developed a gun of some sort in moments. Lacking the magic to cast Nayru's Love in her defense, Zelda was forced to dodge the swift attacks of her enemy as best she could. If she'd been a dozen times stronger and tougher, she could probably have vanquished thirty of those robots, she felt, but in her recent, weakened state, with her magic mostly gone, she was put almost exclusively on the defensive for the first minute or so of the fight.

Finally, though, Zelda began to dig through her pouch of weapons, and yanked out the razor-sharp cord that she often used as a whip when she was in her shiekah uniform. She swung it around at her adversary quickly, but his whole torso seemed to rotate on the spot to avoid the blow, then deliver a clawing jab to Zelda's midsection while she was off-balance. The impact of the jab flung Zelda several yards back, and as she got to her feet again, her stomach was in quite a lot of pain. She could tell that she'd been scratched up a lot by the attacks of the robot, but not enough to make her surrender.

In a flash, Zelda was holding a knife in one hand, and she seemed to shake that hand once, revealing three more. In a moment longer, her left arm was flying back and forth, and so were her shiekah knives. The robot had rushed after her, propelled forward by jets of flame on its back a moment later, when suddenly, both of its arms were struck by knives, as well as one of its legs. Its head was pierced by the last one, and it stumbled to a halt.

Zelda smiled when she saw that. Her foe was made of metal, but it wasn't invincible. It had cracks in its joints, which things could be tossed into, and Zelda had taken advantage of that to strike damaging blows against it for the first time during that battle.

However, just as Zelda began to move closer to her enemy, with another knife in one hand, she realized that the robot was getting back to its feet, its every joint glowing green, and its arms fully functional again. Zelda stared in awe at that robot, as it once again got to its feet and stood upright once more; completely unharmed.

For a moment, Zelda wondered if the knives were still embedded in the robot's arms and head. From the looks of things, though, they most likely weren't. It seemed to have repaired itself somehow, and that just gave Zelda another reason to worry. What, she wondered, was the extent of its ability to repair itself, and what part of it was responsible for those repairs? Most importantly, how was she going to conquer a foe that could just heal itself midway through the fight? Those questions worried her a lot as she searched desperately for answers. Even with all of her magic, Zelda wasn't sure she could have matched up to an enemy like that.

Meanwhile, the robot had renewed its attack, transforming its shoulders into buzz-saws, attached to it by lengths of cable, which it flung at her like frisbees. Zelda barely had time to dodge those fresh attacks, when suddenly, the robot's eyes glowed blue, and a beam of light flew out from them, striking her left leg. At once a sheet of ice started to spread across her entire body, and she fell to the floor, the ice shattering upon impact, causing freezing shards to wedge themselves in her skin. The pain was horrifying.

Slowly, Zelda struggled to her feet, and drew some more knives from her bag, but the robot had changed one arm into a gun again, and bullets swatted the knives from her hand only moments before the creature had dashed forward and grabbed her by the collar. Zelda had very little time to think, and even less time to act, as she was yanked to her feet and pulled closer to her opponent. She could see that a part of the robot's neck had opened up, and a beam weapon seemed to be arming itself within the fighter's metal frame. Having no desire to see what that beam weapon was for, Zelda used her right arm to fling a thick, black powder into the robot's face, obscuring its field of vision. The deadly machine staggered back at that moment, and dropped Zelda as it began trying to rub the powder from its eyes, but as its metal hands and face ground against one another, there was a spark, and the robot's whole face seemed to explode.

Zelda grinned ironically through the pain in her leg, which was still terrible. It wasn't the first time that she'd used gunpowder to win a fight, but she knew that the robot was having a tough time of it, and that made her feel at least a little bit better, even if she couldn't completely win. Something inside her wanted to make a show of that fight, no matter what.

However, as she looked on, the robot's face plate seemed to be mending itself, as though tiny switches were fitting everything back into its proper place. Peece seemed quite convinced of its superior technology by that point. Twice, Zelda had damaged its superstructure, and twice, it had been superficial damage, quickly repaired. Peece must have been able to tell that Zelda was growing weaker and weaker by the minute, and that she hadn't been ready for a fight with something like him. Even if she had been able to use her magic, Zelda knew, it wouldn't have given her much leeway. His speed and limitless variety of weapons gave him the advantage in offense, and his self-repair system made defense almost a moot point.

However. just as Peece was advancing on Zelda again, his face completely healed from the small explosion that had consumed it, Zelda held up the object that she'd been clutching in her hand. It was a button, attached to a small, metal spark device. Weapons like that were common on most worlds, and they were most often used by assassins to detonate bombs from far away. Peece barely had time to perform a check of his systems, before he seemed to realize what she had planned, and watched in helpless horror as Zelda pressed the button, and the bomb she'd planted in him mere moments before, while he'd been distracted by the gunpowder detonated, separating his chest into several pieces, and shattering most of his superstructure too.

Although she seemed to have finally won that fight with her enemy, it really only made Zelda feel sad. The machine known as Peece had been a truly incredible device, and it must have taken a great genius to design and build it, but she needed to win for the sake of her people.

However, for some reason, Zelda wasn't returning to the arena, and although she found it hard to believe, she knew that could only mean that her fight wasn't finished yet. Zelda looked around for her enemy in a hurry, and saw, in horror, that parts of his shattered body were transforming into different shapes as they writhed on the ground, independent of their guiding computer. In moments, a basic program in all of its parts activated itself, and the robot pieces began to propel themselves back towards the fragmented chest, which was lying on another section of the ground.

"No." Zelda gasped in amazement and worry, "I don't believe it. It can't reassemble anymore; not from all those bits."

However, it certainly seemed as if the shattered parts of Peece were doing a decent job of converging on one another, and Zelda knew that she had to do everything she could to stop that. Crawling as best she could across the distance between herself, and where the bits of the robot were gathering, Zelda grabbed many of the crawling parts with her hands, and stepped on many more with her feet, but no matter how small the pieces of the robot became, they always seemed to come back together for a new attempt at re-forming. Then, Zelda saw its battered chest lying on the ground, with a green glow coming from within it, and in a flash, she figured out what was really going on.

Diving out of the sea of microbe-like robot parts, and towards Peece's chest, Zelda spotted a small, green orb with two sharp points, glowing green all over from inside her enemy's metal chest. Yanking out a knife, she struggled as the robot limbs behind her attempted to yank her back from the green, gem-like structure, but in moments, she'd thrust the knife through the device, and a horrible, electric shock flew through the knife, so that she had to drop it like a hot potato.

Almost at once, the pieces of the robot fell to the ground like so much dust, and Zelda herself fell to the ground as well, too weak even to stand, as she found herself back in the teleport area, being pulled from the teleport pad by Stalflare. She knew at once what had happened, however. The gem-like device in the robot's chest had been the part of it that orchestrated its repair systems through remote signals to all of its other parts. When she'd damaged it, the rest of its body had simply lost the power to repair itself, and she'd won that fight in the only way that she could have.

Before the princess of Hyrule lapsed into unconsciousness, however, she heard the reassuring words of Link, speaking to her from somewhere overhead.

"That's it. You're done now. Let me handle the next one."

* * *

After making sure that Zelda was alright, Link stepped up to the platform himself, and was somewhat surprised to find that it wasn't the leader, but the horned giant with the six limbs who was facing him.

"Your team has won its last fight." the giant decreed proudly, "I'm Cherok, and I'm not going to lose."

Link frowned, but not due to any lack of confidence, as he replied, "My name's Link, and that remains to be seen."

Then, in moments, the two stepped into the teleporters, and were suddenly elsewhere.

* * *

Link smiled as he looked around, at the place where the teleporter had most recently deposited him. He and Cherok had found themselves in a large forest, which teemed with life. It was the sort of place that Link had spent his entire childhood in, and he felt absolutely certain that there, he could fight at his best, but for some reason, Cherok was also smiling, as if he considered the forest environment an advantage for himself too.

Wanting to make the fight as brief as possible, and knowing for certain that Cherok was a person with some measure of cruelty in his heart, Link rushed forward with his sword drawn, and began to slash back and forth, but to his dismay, in spite of his enormous size, Cherok dodged every blow with a look of only slight concern.

In response, Link sped up his attacks, sacrificing most of his more forceful blows in favor of pure speed, and that forced Cherok to start deflecting Link's arms with the backs of his own, in order to avoid the deadly edge of the Master Sword. At last, however, Link jabbed forward with both hands on the hilt of his weapon, and Cherok looked almost desperate, as he leapt into the air to avoid the blow.

Link glanced up, as soon as Cherok did that, carefully measuring the speed of his leaping enemy in his head; and calculating the trajectory and direction as well, to determine where Cherok's leap was going to take him next. In moments, Link had run along the ground, with his sword still outstretched, to the point where Cherok seemed likely to land, hoping that the fight could be finished right then and there.

Suddenly, however, Cherok turned his body around in mid-air, and seemed to just disappear. In his place, three fireballs dove towards Link from above, and he was forced to whip out his shield in response. The fireballs vanished into Link's mirror shield in only a moment, and soon, a blast of flame had shot out from his shield as well, returning the way it had come, but Link could tell that all of that was still only the beginning. He looked cautiously around, and discovered that Cherok had re-appeared in mid-air behind him, and was covered in what looked like a flame aura, of the sort that Stalflare sometimes used. Link could tell at once why Cherok had been so happy to find himself in a forest. Fire was his element, after all. Where would a fire beast be at more of an advantage than in a place with a lot of things to burn?

At once, Link yanked out his supply of ice arrows, and fired one off, but Cherok simply dodged in mid-air, as though propelled by the flames surrounding him, then zipped forward, and was on the ground in front of Link again, but still surrounded by his flames. The heat was extremely oppressive, but Link wasn't about to back down.

"Flames or not," Link said firmly, "You won't be defended from the Master Sword."

"Well, that may be true." Cherok replied, still smiling, "If you can hit me with it."

Once again, Link wielded his blade against his opponent as quickly as he could, but if anything, Cherok seemed to have gotten even faster since the flames had covered his body. He weaved in and out of Link's fastest blows, and at last, delivered a red-hot jab to the Hero of Time's stomach, burning away the front of Link's tunic, and causing open sores to break out all over the skin of his chest. Link leapt back away from his opponent's fist as fast as possible, however, and managed to avoid the most lethal effects of the blow.

Just like that, Link began to realize that the Master Sword would be of limited use to him. That foe was too fast and too deadly, and even Link didn't have enough training to tackle someone like that. If he wanted to defeat him, he had to do it with a more long-range weapon. With both of Link's golden gauntlets shining in the sun, he reached one of the trees nearby, and uprooted it in an impressive display of superhuman strength. Then, with a swiftness that was almost unimaginable, Link swung the tree around like a club in a wide arc, catching Cherok right in the chest with it.

Cherok's ribs seemed to splinter into his organs from the impact, and his body was consumed in flames in mere moments, as was the tree that had hit him. Link fell back onto the ground, as the flaming tree collapsed as well, and he watched it burn in satisfaction. It hadn't exactly been a typical way to win, but...

However, as Link watched the tree burn, his satisfaction turned to suspicion, then to open dread, as the wood and ash of the tree began to change its shape on its own, and the body of Cherok started to reshape itself as well. Link scrambled to his feet in an instant, and took a few steps back, as two, then five, then a dozen Cheroks emerged from the flaming mass that had once been the tree, and all at once, they spoke aloud to Link; their voices all reciting the same words simultaneously, and all through the layers of flame that surrounded them.

"This is why you can't defeat me, Link. My essence is the same as the open flame. As I burn things around me, I spread and reproduce, just like a flame does. As far as I'm concerned, this battle was mine as soon as it was decided that we'd be spending it in a forest. Perhaps in a mountain, or underwater you might have won. Perhaps."

Link clutched his sword carefully in one hand, his mind racing to come up with a new plan, as the dozen enemies bore down on him with jet-like speed, all at once.

"Bombs?" Link thought, but no. That would just make it worse. Din's Fire would only add to the problem, and Cherok had already proven that he was capable of dodging Link's arrows. None of his other weapons would really work against that creature's searing heat except the Master Sword, and it could only deliver short-range attacks. Cherok was obviously quite capable of dodging attacks like those. Dodging long-range attacks seemed to be a bit harder for him, though.

Quickly, Link yanked a bottle from his pocket and drank the milk inside. At once, the wounds on his chest healed themselves, and he held his sword carefully in both hands, attempting to perform a trick he hadn't tried for many months. His body focused its intentions to a single point, and so did his mind. When Link finally felt that he was ready, he swung his sword as hard as he could, and a beam of light was fired out from it, piercing one of the Cheroks through the chest, and killing him almost instantly. The others continued to rush towards Link, even as their companion's flame dissipated, as if they just didn't care about his fate at all, which was a bit easy to believe, given what Link had seen of Cherok's attitude up to that point.

Quickly, Link fired another beam, then another, slaying two more of his pursuers, then ducked behind a boulder, as nine fireballs shot his way, reducing most of the boulder to molten slag. As fast as he could, Link slid back out from behind the slag, and fired off more beams, nailing five more Cheroks, then kicked off a tree to change direction in mid-slide, and to dodge more fireballs that struck the tree as he slid away from it.

However, as the tree burnt to the ground, ten more Cheroks emerged from it, and charged after Link again. Activating Nayru's Love, Link dove into their very midst, and swung his sword around in a swift, circular motion, cleaving six of them, but the other four dodged his initial attacks, and by that time, two of the Cheroks behind him had begun to ignite the other trees on purpose, which would probably create countless doubles of his enemy.

"This is getting me nowhere." Link thought, suddenly faced with two dozen copies of his enemy, "With all this wood, they're multiplying faster than I can cut them down, and it's only a matter of time before one of them damages me, and leaves me defenseless. After all, I can't use the sword beam if I'm wounded, and if I can't use the sword beam, I might not even be able to beat one of them, much less a whole army."

Reinforcing Nayru's Love with his remaining magic, Link focused as hard as he could, concentrating all of his attention in preparation for a sword spin. At last, he let fly with a spinning sword attack, and all at once, sharp beams flew in all directions, striking his enemies all over, and knocking them to the ground. As Link came out of his spin, he could see fires dying all around him. Just like that, the vast majority of his enemies had been cut to pieces.

However, one fire wasn't dying. One last Cherok remained, and although he was wounded, lacking one leg, and with a cut in his back, he still didn't look ready to give up. What was worse, he was only moments away from reaching another tree.

"No." Link whispered to himself as he rushed forward. If Cherok got to that tree, he knew, the whole thing would start all over again. Quickly, Link fired a beam at Cherok, and made a desperate wish that it would just connect.

Sure enough, the beam hit Cherok's body right in what seemed to be a vulnerable spot, but by that point, it was too late, because the tree was already ablaze. Link watched in horror as the fire spread, and the tree started to fall, transforming yet again, but unlike in the past, that tree hadn't transformed into many Cheroks, but into only one, of a size that was even more enormous than before. It stood almost fifty feet tall, and as Link watched in horror, it reached out its long, flaming hands like enormous wings, to take in even more of the trees around it.

Soon, Link was running, dodging back and forth as balls of fire the size of houses exploded on the ground just behind his feet. Every ounce of his incredible speed was put to the test as he leapt back and forth with the two-hundred-foot, flaming giant behind him. It didn't, fortunately, take flight that time, but it was using its vast size and fire powers to its best advantage. The forest seemed to burst into flame around Link, just as quickly as he could run, and finally, when it seemed as if he was trapped, he dove forward, out of the edge of the forest, and down a grassy hill beyond it. As he rolled down the hill and came to a stop, however, he could still hear the sound of the all-encompassing forest fire behind him, and he could feel the burns that his feet had suffered. From that, he knew that firing another beam from his sword wasn't going to be possible.

Desperately, Link looked around for any kind of advantage; anything that he could use against that beast as a weapon, and he could see a large river in front of him, spreading out across the valley beneath. It was over a dozen yards across, and beyond it was a series of snowcapped mountains. Almost immediately, the Hero of Time had hatched two plans in his mind.

With another long, powerful leap, Link dove into the river, and at once, the Zora tunic and Iron Boots found another use, as he walked along the bottom of the stream, against the flow of its strong current. Link looked up quickly, though, and unfortunately, he could tell that the giant had grown even larger, and was walking towards the river in pursuit of him. In moments, a massive foot; easily 40 feet long, plunged into the river, and the waters around it began to boil.

As quickly as he could, Link dashed across the bottom of the river, and took off his iron boots, floating to the surface, then climbed out of the boiling water, as the enormous Cherok continued to wade through it. By that point, the whole river seemed to be boiling, but the giant looked like he'd lost a bit of his mass, and was small enough that he was only above water from the hips up. He still towered over Link, but it also seemed to indicate a weakness, which Hyrule's hero could take advantage of. Pulling out his megaton hammer, Link said a short prayer in his heart. If anything was going to work, after all, it would have to be his next plan.

As Link's hammer connected with the bank of the river, the entire valley shook with the tremors. Cracks formed in the earth where Link had struck, and soon, the course of the mighty river had changed, throwing the fearsome giant off-balance. He slipped and fell forward for a moment, colliding with the riverbank, his chest resting on its shores, and seeing an opportunity, Link leapt directly forward, and his body began to glow blue with one last spell of protection, as he plunged directly into the giant's flaming shoulder.

The giant shrieked as the nearly-invulnerable little creature dove further and further into his body, closer and closer, through his chest. At last, Link could feel Nayru's Love beginning to give out, and he knew that he didn't have the strength to reinforce it.

"Whether I'm close enough to his vital areas or not," Link thought to himself, "It's now or never."

Drawing the Master Sword, Link let fly with a spinning slash, inside of Cherok's flaming chest, and he could hear the screams of his adversary echoing throughout the entire area. People for miles must have been able to hear that scream, as Cherok's fiery heart had been pierced by the sword of evil's bane.

If Cherok had bled like a normal being, Link might have emerged from that fight relatively unharmed, but he bled fire; not blood, and Link was already losing his spell of protection as it was. A hundred flames, intense beyond reason, struck at the Hero of Time from all sides, and before the fire had died down all the way, Link lost consciousness from the pain.

* * *

"I don't believe it." Stalflare remarked aloud, as Link reappeared on the teleport platform. Every section of him was practically fried. It would take a lot of work by Hyrule's fairies to patch Link up after a fight like that, and it would have to happen within a few minutes. Link's injuries were so severe, in fact, that if he didn't get help almost immediately, he was really going to die. Stalflare looked over his team desperately, for any sign of help. Darunia, Byrna and Zelda were in no shape to help Link. If only, Stalflare thought, he didn't have to fight next. If only Ruto was...

Ruto was awake, however, and she was standing on the platform, flexing her muscles in a very proud and arrogant way, which followed the behavior of the rest of her people almost precisely. That probably meant that she just hadn't noticed Link's condition, or more likely, hadn't been able to recognize him as Link, but regardless, Stalflare grinned. He could patch Link up enough to survive the trip back to Hyrule, and it was certain that Cherok hadn't survived that fight, but Stalflare would have to use most of his magic to heal Link, which meant that he'd have that much less to fight his own enemy with.

"Renda zeibo!" Stalflare muttered at last, swearing in gerudo, "If a hylian woman can do it, then I can as well."

At that, Stalflare looked towards Zelda, who'd survived her own fight, with almost none of her magic to work with. She, he grudgingly realized, would have to be his inspiration for his own next battle.

At once, Stalflare lifted Link onto his shoulders, and carried him down to the rest of his team, who waited in their designated area. He quickly clapped his hands together, and began a healing spell, doing his best to repair as much damage as he could.

Ruto, meanwhile, was obviously ready to go. She stamped her feet and clapped her hands together in anticipation, as the hound-beast stepped forth to meet her. For the first time, the leader of the opposite team looked truly afraid, though. He'd seen three of his fighters slain in that battle, and must have been starting to wonder about whether he could survive the next couple of rounds with such a shorthanded team, even if he could defeat the hylians. They weren't in much of a condition to walk, but all of their members were still alive. In fact, for a moment, it almost seemed as if he was struggling to convince himself that continuing to fight them was for the best.

However, pretty soon, the leader of the opposing team shook himself all over, as if to clear his thoughts. By that point, obviously, there would be no surrender. Still, it seemed more as if the other team's leader had a lot of proud ambitions resting on those fights, and realized that he was never going to have another chance like that one. He obviously had an ego, and was staking everything on that fight.

The enormous rock-hound, however, looked Ruto up and down, and eventually, shockingly, it spoke.

"I am a beast of power." it said in a deep voice, which sounded like it was being ground through a flour mill, "You are small and limited. What can you possibly do to stop me?"

However, in spite of the monster's size, and its boasting, Ruto didn't look worried, in fact, she seemed even more confident than ever.

"Three days ago" Ruto explained with a grin, "I'd have a harder time answering that question, but these days, I'm feeling much stronger, and you'll have to excuse me for knowing that I can win."

The beast frowned, but didn't say any more about it. It walked on all fours into the teleporter a moment later, the base of which had somehow expanded to accommodate it, and Ruto just kept grinning as she entered her own teleportation platform. Her scales seemed almost to gleam in the meager light of the teleport area, and they gleamed even more when she reappeared.

* * *

Ruto and her opponent took a moment to survey their surroundings before their fight began. They were on a huge, dirt cliff, overlooking a rocky shoreline of no more than a yard wide, beyond which lay the vast expanse of the ocean, and that sight certainly made Ruto feel quite a bit more confident.

"Good." Ruto thought, with a smile, though her enemy seemed to be smiling in the very same way, as if he was thinking the same thing, for some reason, "I can use my full powers here."

For a few moments, Ruto and the beast faced one another, neither one moving a muscle to attack or defend themselves. Finally, however, it was the beast who made the first move.

Leaping forward with a snarl, the creature let out a single clawed slash, and watched as his blow collided with Ruto's chest. Then, he leapt back, and waited for his enemy to fall.

However, Ruto didn't fall. In fact, her scales didn't tear, she wasn't bleeding, and she didn't even seem upset. Ruto of the zoras was grinning.

Enraged that his first attack had failed, the beast charged Ruto again, slashing with both of his front paws that time, but in the face of that new attack, Ruto made a move of her own. Reaching up, she grabbed one of the monster's paws, and with a swift motion of her hand, crushed the stone that it was made from to pieces.

The beast roared as he stumbled back, limping slightly on his three remaining paws, and looking absolutely flabbergasted by the sheer strength of that strange enemy. He'd never expected her to be capable of crushing solid stone so easily.

"You see," Ruto boasted to her enemy, "I've always known it was possible for a zora to reach a level of strength like this, but I was always too much of a whiner to do what it took to obtain it. I don't think any zora was ever willing to endure the disciplines needed for this kind of power. Why should they, after all, in times of peace, surrounded by friendly nations? When a zora dives underwater, their powers grow. They become capable of withstanding the intense heat, cold and pressure of the underwater depths, and that increases their strength and endurance to an almost immeasurable degree, but only underwater. That was the real power of the zoras. We adapt very easily to oppressive circumstances. However, I've spent these past three days surviving deadly traps in the Water Temple. That's why I was so beat-up and tired this morning, and that's why I've grown so much stronger since then. Plus, I've learned a few new tricks."

The beast, however, wasn't scared. On the contrary, he seemed quite sure of himself. Swiftly, he shoved his broken paw underground, and when he brought it back up, it was completely healed, and back in one piece again.

Suddenly, however, Ruto heard a sound behind her, and spun around to see two huge, stone paws reaching out of the ground for her. With a vicious backhand, she shattered them to bits, and watched as their pieces dropped into the ocean, then turned back to face the beast...

…Only to find that he was gone. The stone hound had vanished while she'd been dealing with his latest attack, and she couldn't see him anywhere. For a moment, Ruto began to worry, and leapt backwards off the edge of the cliff. But suddenly, a fist made of earth came out of the rocky wall in front of her, and seized her by one leg, stopping her fall. At that point, from all around her, Ruto heard the voice of the beast again, saying "I have a few tricks myself, little one, like the power to control stone, earth and rock. You're a very strong creature by yourself, but you're still only one. I'm everywhere!"

However, as the rocky fist tightened around Ruto's leg, she focused, and her every pore excreted a black ink a moment later, allowing her to slip from the grasp of her enemy, and plunge into the ocean.

Once she was in the water, Ruto was once again struck by the beauty all around her, and the wonderful feeling that it gave her to be immersed in her favorite element. However, she could see a series of large hands and mouths emerging from the sand beneath the ocean, and knew that she had no time to enjoy herself. Swimming faster than any animal, she began to create an artificial water vortex, which quickly formed itself into a waterspout. Ruto watched proudly, as the earth around her location was flung in all directions by the force of the waves, but it only bought her a little bit of time, and it wasn't exactly a real attack, which might have damaged her enemy. There was earth under her, above her on the cliff, and on one side, which meant that her enemy could still attack her from any of a number of different directions. Still, her remarkable endurance, magnified by her natural, underwater powers, at least offered her a bit of protection. Even if her enemy did attack her, she was sure she could have withstood it for a while. Still, what she really needed was some means of actually winning.

Ruto could see small bullets made of sand heading her way, colliding with her from all sides, and failing miserably to penetrate her scales as she dove downward into the heart of her enemy and; her legs spinning rapidly, she began to yank aside the sand on the sea floor, tunneling deeper and deeper underground. The beast struggled to crush her from all sides with moving sand, but she was moving so fast that it was impossible. In less than five minutes, Ruto found herself in a hollow area underground, and watched as the seawater rushed to fill it in. Zipping back and forth from the ocean to the hollow below the planet's crust, Ruto filled space after space with water, and the beast didn't seem to have figured out what she was up to until it was too late.

Ruto would have needed to be a hundred times stronger than she was, if she'd wanted to accomplish that attack directly, but she'd managed it by using seawater to fill the spaces between the planet's crust and the magma flow underneath it. A whole island, set on a plate of land above the planet's core shifted position as she did that. It was a large prison, but a prison nonetheless, and it seemed to keep the beast from affecting any of the dirt below the ocean floor; trapping the monstrous hound completely. Ruto had separated the island from the rest of the planet by floating it on a cushion of water, and it was only a matter of time before the island began to suffer tremors from the tectonic damage that those changes would undoubtedly inflict on it.

As Ruto had suspected, the power of the beast over his element of earth had its limits. He was unable to hold it all together as the floating island collapsed into the lava flow beneath it, apparently causing the beast pain, which in turn, caused it to retreat further upward along the island. As it began to lose its grip on the land mass, the three forces; magma, land and seawater, continued to collide, causing the land to melt into the magma, and the water to release clouds of super-hot steam, and preventing the beast's escape onto any other islands. Not wanting to remain in the boiling water, Ruto leapt on shore, and at once, she was confronted by the beast again. Once again, after all of that, it was down to the two of them, fighting one on one. By that point, however, Ruto could see that the stone hound was genuinely afraid, and knew that she'd found his weakness.

"In just a few moments" Ruto announced quickly, "This entire island will fall into the sea, and you with it. Neither of us can get away through the steam or water, except by one of us winning the fight."

"I won't let you win!" the beast shouted furiously, leaping directly at her again, but that time, instead of stopping the beast's blow, Ruto endured his claws, causing a few of her scales to be torn off by the most powerful attack that he could summon, and in just another moment, she'd grabbed him by the neck. The beast struggled in her hands, clearly afraid to inhabit the island again, because of the magma underneath it. In fact, he was afraid to even move. At last, however, Ruto picked the monster up off the ground in both hands, and with a mighty lunge, hurled him out into the ocean, where the clouds of steam and boiling water began to take its toll on his rocky mass almost at once.

* * *

Ruto found herself back in the teleportation area, and stepped down from the platforms just a moment later. Her shoulders, chest and fingertips ached from the fight, but otherwise, she felt just fine. The large pile of mud that remained of her opponent, in turn, could use some time to dry out, but he actually looked as if he might recover.

Furthermore, Stalflare assured Ruto a moment later that Link would survive the trip home, and that Zelda was awake, although he himself looked drained. Slowly, Ruto went over to Zelda, who, like everyone, had been watching the last fight. After a moment, however, Zelda muttered slowly "So that was your secret."

In reply, Ruto nodded with a tired smile, and Zelda continued, in halting breaths, "Don't do it again."

Ruto just grinned, and said "I promise," as Stalflare walked up to the teleportation platform, to face the last enemy.

The man in the blue, tattered pants must have known that he could still win if he could kill Stalflare. He could make it to his exit faster than anyone on the other team, including Darunia. If only his team could pull it together for the upcoming fights, they might still be able to salvage a victory too.

"I'm Stalflare." the greide zwooda announced with a cold frown, "You would be...?"

"Tobias." his enemy replied, "I'm here to claim victory for the glory of my people."

"Is glory the only reason why you're here?" Stalflare immediately asked, raising one eyebrow. He received only silence in reply, however.

"Very well." Stalflare continued, "Let's proceed, then."

In only a moment, the two stepped into the teleporters, and found themselves elsewhere.

* * *

It was night in the city that the two fighters found themselves in; a night where clouds blocked out the light of the moon, though the street lights below them lit up a great deal nonetheless. They were standing on metal girders, high above a shimmering cityscape. Both fighters were so high up, that Tobias didn't look as if he felt secure at all. In fact, he almost looked as if he'd never even seen a structure that tall before.

"The people of this world must have truly awesome powers" Tobias reasoned aloud, "to be able to build such massive homes for themselves."

"Maybe they merely work together, as the people of my world do." Stalflare observed from nearby, stretching his muscles, both physical and magical, as he stood like a true acrobat on the girders. However, it didn't look like his enemy was buying that explanation.

"That's absurd." Tobias responded quickly, "If people made things as vast as this through cooperation, no one could ever feel as though they'd accomplished anything."

Stalflare looked quite pleased with himself, however, when he replied to that.

"If your people are such separationists, then it's no wonder you've developed your powers so far. You'd have to have great powers, just to survive."

"We don't work in teams of more than a dozen." Tobias replied blandly, as if not sure of how to interpret the gerudo wizard's words, though he was still speaking with something that seemed like contempt, "More than that, and it's difficult to tell who deserves the greatest glory, although conquest is still somewhat common."

"Are your own ambitions the only real motive you have?" Stalflare asked curiously, "Don't you care about anything else?"

"I don't see that I should." Tobias replied, "No civilization should be without self-actualization, and mine is the fulfillment of it."

For a few moments, Stalflare contemplated what he was facing. Tobias' people, it seemed, were the dark side of the gerudo. The gerudo based a large part of their culture around personal ego, but a large part was also based around honor and constructive work. If they ever dove off one end, and cared only about their own pride, they could have wound up like those people; helplessly afraid that every other member of their species saw them only as a conquest.

"Your people must be a very suspicious and unhappy bunch." Stalflare remarked, but almost as soon as he said it, he saw a look of selfishness and hate come over his enemy's face, and in just a moment, Tobias leapt forward, delivering such a powerful kick to Stalflare's neck, that even his enchanted skin began to bruise under it. Since his transformation into a greide zwooda, Stalflare had grown physically tougher than even Link, and a single kick from a normal martial-artist would have had almost no effect at all on him. However, that man was exceptional. Stalflare could see his fiery will, propelling him onward to greater personal power; greater accomplishments. Tobias, seeing that his kick had done very little, however, covered his face with his hands for a moment, before pulling them back again, and surprising the gerudo by firing beams of force from his eyes.

Quickly, Stalflare placed both arms in front of him to block the blast, and it felt, to him, as though someone of roughly half his strength was trying to punch him over and over. Fragments of the beams rebounded off his skin, colliding with, and putting dents in, the metal around them, but slowly, he advanced on Tobias, and he, in response, backed off, with a look of shock and horror on his face. It had clearly been a long time since Tobias had seen anyone take his attack head-on like that, and he seemed to be racing through his memory in search of another technique that he could use, just as Stalflare ducked away from his enemy's attack, rushed forward, and grabbed his opponent by the throat.

"I almost hate to slay such a weak foe." Stalflare remarked aloud, as his mighty fingers gripped the neck of his enemy, "It doesn't seem honorable at all."

Suddenly, however, a kick found its home in Stalflare's side, and that one genuinely hurt. The sorcerer held on tight to Tobias, like a true warrior born, refusing to surrender his prize, but he could see that his enemy's fiery glare had grown even deeper. Stalflare could feel the impact of Tobias' kicks again and again against his side, and felt that in a moment, those attacks might turn into something serious. Worse yet, Tobias' neck seemed to be hardening under his grasp.

At last, Stalflare let go of his opponent, and swung his staff in a wide arc to strike out against him, but his enemy was already getting some of his old strength back somehow, because he ducked under the oncoming staff quickly.

"I've worked too long and too hard!" Tobias screamed as soon as he'd gotten his breathing back under control, "I won't let you steal this victory from me! I g... I g... g-g-g..."

Stalflare looked towards his enemy again, but he could see that Tobias was bent over; not in pain, but in some kind of strange convulsions. For a moment, Stalflare wondered what was causing that bizarre reaction. Had his attacks provoked a delayed reaction somehow? What, Stalflare wondered, had changed in the last few seconds?

However, just then, the gerudo looked up, and it was only then that he realized what was different. The clouds in the sky had drifted away, revealing the round shape of the moon. Stalflare looked back to Tobias a moment later, and to his horror, saw that hair had begun to spring up all over his body. His fingernails sharpened into claws, his teeth sharpened even more, and the shape of his feet and hands changed completely. His torso remained roughly the same size, but his head underwent the greatest change. In no more than a few moments, Tobias' head and eyes had vanished, to be replaced with those of a vicious predator; the face of a furious wolf.

Instantly, the wolf leapt forward with its claws outstretched, and Stalflare felt them grate sharply against the skin of his chest, before the wolf leapt over his head, and landed behind him. The fighter from Hyrule had gotten, in that short amount of time, a good look into the eyes of his enemy, and he'd seen an expression in those eyes, which made it seem as though the terrible wolf was struggling mentally, as though trying to remember something.

Quickly, Stalflare sprung into action again. This wolf-creature that Tobias had transformed into resembled a wolfos from his world, but it was nearly twice as large, and he could tell that it was dangerous, because it was already moving as fast as he was. The silver-furred Tobias rushed forward again a moment later, striking out at Stalflare, who barely managed to dodge. At last, however, the gerudo held his hand out in front of his enemy, and a blinding flash emerged from his palm again, seeming to drive the wolf-creature back. After having healed Link, Stalflare had very little magic left, but he was regaining more of it with every second. In a few moments more, he'd have enough for one attack spell, though it probably wouldn't be very powerful.

However, the flash of light seemed to have changed Tobias in some way. Before, he'd been acting in a bestial manner, showing no sign of human awareness, but suddenly, his eyes seemed to gleam with a depth of intelligence again. His posture changed, and he stood on his hind legs, like a man. Stalflare watched, as the intelligence of Tobias grappled with the blind, feral rage of that wolf-creature. Obviously, they were two personalities in one body, and it was a fight that neither one could completely win.

However, when the rage and intelligence converged, another change occured in Tobias. His fur began to change, growing slicker and harder. Open fire seemed to channel itself into his fists, and a color of golden metal began to creep along his fur, until every part of him seemed to gleam in the moonlight; shining like gold. When that happened, he began to calm down, and seemed to have mostly mastered his rage, though Stalflare could still tell that the fight was going to continue.

"On my world, we have a legend." the golden, wolf-like Tobias said, in a voice that sounded almost human again, "It speaks about the one werewolf in a hundred that merges with its human side. Only through both incredible control and boundless rage could he transform again, and only if he was already stronger than werewolves and humans alike. The golden werewolf was said to have power beyond imagining."

As he said that, however, he grinned a hideous, wolf-like grin, and not merely because his head resembled that of a wolf, but because he himself, as a person, was so much like one to begin with.

"Thank you for helping me obtain it. Now, you just have to die."

At once, there erupted from the golden werewolf's body a flaming beast in the shape of a wolf; at least fourteen feet tall, and it was headed right towards Stalflare.

Reacting quickly, Stalflare held out his staff and concentrated. Most of the flames bent around him, but many got through and burned his skin and wings. They weren't mere open flames, he quickly discovered, but a living attack force, already being wielded by someone, and that made them much harder to block than ordinary fire, or even magic.

Seeing his attack being mostly deflected, Tobias leapt forward on all fours, and when he was mere inches from Stalflare, he stood up and delivered a powerful blow to the gerudo wizard's midsection. The gerudo fighter couldn't remember ever being hit that hard since the time when he'd fought with Tassicle, and the shock and surprise registered on his face immediately. The fighter he'd been facing had somehow grown many times stronger in the blink of an eye. He suspected that his enemy might not be able to grow any stronger than that, but that was little comfort. He knew that he had to find some way to end the fight right then and there.

Stalflare tumbled back away from his enemy's latest punch, and braced himself for another attack in only a moment. Tobias rushed forward quickly, and performed a flying kick in an instant, which caught the gerudo off-guard a moment later, however. Stalflare was knocked back again by that fresh attack, and the fronts of his arms were nearly torn to shreds by the force of the blow, in spite of his attempt to block it.

Struggling to his feet again, Stalflare saw that Tobias was preparing another flying kick, and tried desperately to stall for time, saying "Just how well do you think you'll do with just four team members? You don't think you'll win, do you? Where's the glory in losing?"

Those comments distracted Tobias for a moment, and he flew forward in mid-kick, colliding with the metal girders around them. Swiftly, Stalflare began to develop a plan, though, and continued to taunt his much stronger enemy.

"You're tough." The greide zwooda admitted with a sly grin, "I grant you that, but you can't be the toughest, and even if you are, do you think you or any of your teammates can fight more than one opponent this far into the conflict? You don't have a chance to win, and that's probably for the best. For someone so consumed by selfishness and arrogance, I'd hate to think what your wish would be."

Those words enraged Tobias even more, however, and he rushed forward again; across the girders, towards where Stalflare was standing.

"I have you now." Stalflare thought to himself, as his magic reached the point of being able to finally cast a spell again. Pointing his staff forward, a blast of flame melted the girders just in front of the golden werewolf, who, unable to get any footing, tumbled down, further and further. With the same blast, Stalflare melted still more girders above them, and they began to fall too. In mid-air, Tobias smashed his foot against one girder, and began to rocket upward in an aura of blue fire, but just then, a thousand pounds of metal smashed into him from above, and when it hit his flame aura, it started to melt around him even more, covering his fur, and burning him all over as it encased him in a molten cocoon.

Stalflare, his strength spent and his arms a mess, felt just about ready to collapse, as he found himself back in the teleport area. Mere moments later, Darunia had rolled to the exit, claiming victory for their team. They'd have the chance to continue fighting in three more days, but in the meantime, they all had a lot of healing to do, and plenty of preparations to make.

* * *

It was nearly a day and a half before Stalflare felt well enough to move after that last fight, but he'd heard that the others had been on their feet for a little while before that, which made him feel a bit embarrassed. Still, when he was back up, he knew that he needed to talk to someone about that last fight, so he decided to pay a visit to Link.

Link, it turned out, was in the room that the conflict master had given to him, and Stalflare frowned as he stepped inside, but his frown was replaced by a look of surprise when, without even turning around to look at his friend, Link said "There, but for the grace of Din, go we."

After having said that, Link turned around in his seat to face Stalflare. He wasn't smiling, but there was definitely a look of deep understanding in the Hero of Time's face, and after a few moments, he continued to speak.

"I assume that's what you wanted to talk to me about. More of our opponents died in this team battle than in any of the others, and they weren't all that different from us. They put stock in a few things they shouldn't have, but that was just about the only problem they had."

"More to the point," Stalflare replied bitterly, "They took things to too great an extreme. If not for that, they might have wound up like my people."

"Well, that definitely would have been preferable." Link noted, drawing a smirk from his friend, "But to have to fight something that so totally perverts everything your own people stand for must be horrifying. I'm afraid I can't offer you much advise in that respect. You might talk with Zelda about it though. She's faced a perversion of herself just recently as well."

Stalflare was surprised that that hadn't occurred to him, once he took a moment to think it over. It was true enough, of course. Zelda was the only one who could have even come close to knowing how Stalflare felt at that moment. With a lot more to think about, the griede zwooda left Link's room, and the Hero of Time smiled in relief again, as he turned back to his desk and continued to write.

* * *

Byrna had recovered nicely by the end of the first couple days, and was busying herself in the lakeside laboratory with something that she thought would help her in the future. Darunia, meanwhile, was sitting on the hillside overlooking the lake, watching Byrna work as he thought over the things that she'd said about how badly his victory had injured him. However, just then, Ruto walked up to where Darunia was sitting. For some reason, she didn't look any less scratched-up than she had a day and a half ago, but she obviously wasn't feeling too bad.

"What's the problem, Darunia?" Ruto asked him aloud, looking just a little worried as she saw the doubtful expression on the face of the goron boss.

"I don't know if I can continue like this." Darunia replied sadly, "The person I fought might not even have been bad if she hadn't been tortured by her powers."

"Or she might have been even worse." Ruto said quickly, "I think you're just second-guessing yourself, and I don't see the point in doing that."

"It's not just that." Darunia insisted, "Everybody at that conflict was a sentient being of one sort or another. I can't kill a person like that, no matter whether we can bring them back or not. I'm a goron, for Nayru's sake! Gorons don't kill people! I can't do it. I... I can't."

For a few moments, there was total silence between the two of them, as Ruto just stood on the hillside overlooking the lake, and looking down at Darunia. However, after a few moments, she sat down next to him, and spoke to him aloud in a sad tone of voice.

"Less than two weeks ago," Ruto explained, "I faced the same thing you're going through. The exact motivations were a little different, but I had the same kind of problem. Do you know what that problem was?"

For a moment, Darunia stared her in the eyes, and he could see the image of a dedicated hero in her face and expression. As soon as he saw that, he started to feel ashamed that he couldn't be more like her.

"I was a whiner." Ruto continued, starting to frown again, "I made excuses for myself, instead of doing what I had to. Like you, I was spoiled by a peaceful life as royalty, and like you, I had a natural gift for combat; even greater the rest of my people, just by virtue of who and what I was. Still, when I decided to fight in this conflict, I realized that didn't matter at all. The enemies we're facing here; they're not people we can just overwhelm with our magnificent powers. They're just as tough as we are, and some of them are even more powerful. If we want to survive and save our world, we need to be stronger; not just as fighters, but as people."

"I'm the strongest of all my people." Darunia almost whimpered miserably.

"Who cares?" Ruto exclaimed loudly, still frowning at the goron boss, "That's the easy part. Your physical strength isn't going to be enough for most of these battles. In the past, you hardly ever went outside your cavern, or did any real work, beyond the normal, everyday chores. You lived to enjoy yourself, and you only worked to survive, and to make sure that your people could. Those are all things it's natural for a person to believe in, but if you want to survive this conflict, you have to toss all that away. You're not at home, or having fun anymore. You're in the midst of a conflict, fighting for the fate of your world, and you need to throw yourself into that. Nothing else matters."

For a moment, Ruto turned around to leave, but just as she was about to dive back underwater, Darunia yelled out to her, "Wait!"

"What is it now?" Ruto asked, sounding irritated again, "More whining?"

"I...I don't know how" Darunia said at last, looking strangely helpless for someone so large and powerful, "I don't know how to throw myself into anything. I can't concentrate like that! I..."

"That studder of yours is making me ill." Ruto replied, with something that sounded disturbingly like disgust, "I think what really makes me feel terribly, though, is that I used to act the same way. I can't be that kind of person anymore, though. I can't be weak anymore. Just tell me that you don't want to be weak either, and I'll help you however I can."

Ruto turned at that point, and looked Darunia in the face again, but it seemed as if she wasn't quite finished speaking.

"If you want to know how to focus on your objective, then follow me and do exactly as I say, but you might not be able to endure my kind of training."

However, Darunia's rocky face hardened even more at that point. All trace of his whining was gone by the time he bothered to reply to her offer.

"Yes. I can."

* * *

Eventually, Mark's journey took him back to Kakariko Village. His next two stops on his trip would be north of that town; a place which he could only reach by passing through the town gate. Several Kakariko citizens stopped what they were doing and helped Mark move the remaining vegetables to a smaller cart near the Death Mountain gate; a cart that he could bring with him up the mountain.

When the work was finished, Mark saw Ramie walking through town, and waved to her. In response, she waved back energetically, and rushed over to talk to him for a minute.

"How did it go so far?" Ramie asked, looking genuinely interested in Mark's journey.

"I don't think people like me much." Mark admitted sadly, "The kokiri, zoras and gerudo all treated me pretty coldly when I tried to explain what a wonderful world I came from."

Ramie's face fell as Mark said that, however, and when she replied to him, she was looking pretty disappointed.

"Maybe you shouldn't have tried to tell them your stories."

"Maybe." Mark agreed, considering her suggestion, "What can I expect to run into in the lands to the north?"

"Well," Ramie said slowly, "The rock people known as the gorons are your first stop. They're very friendly, and love having fun. Beyond there is the land of the Sheikah, but don't take offense if they don't invite you in. The Shiekah tend to be secretive."

Mark just smiled at that point, however, saying "There's one more thing I wanted to ask you about; these clothes you gave me. I've been wearing them for over a week now, but they never seem to get dirty. Is that normal?"

"Of course." Ramie replied, looking a little surprised to even be asked a question like that, "They're infused with a magical enchantment that activates every hour or so and keeps them clean. That's why I tossed your old ones out. Don't they have that technique on your world?"

"I'd rather not talk about my world right now." Mark just said with a frown, "People don't seem to like me much when I do that."

* * *

An hour later, Mark departed from Kakariko and headed north. The path up Death Mountain wasn't a long one, and soon, he arrived at the gorons' cavern.

The cavern was one of the noisiest places that Mark had ever been to in Hyrule. It was almost as loud as his own home city of New York, in fact. The grinding and crashing of rock against rock echoed again and again off the stone walls of the cavern, and practically flooded Mark's eardrums as he looked around for the inhabitants. Nearby, a young goron was rolling around in a ball-shape, when he suddenly spotted Mark, and exclaimed aloud "Hey! The vegetable guy!"

Unlike the other peoples, the Gorons didn't really eat vegetables, but many of them used vegetables to season rocks before eating them, or even to grow in their rocks. In other words, they often used vegetables in the same way the hylian gardeners used water to grow fruit. Rocks apparently tasted best when they contained the power of nearby life, or when they crystallized, and vegetables were excellent for making the former. The gorons only needed one bag of vegetables for their use, but it seemed like they enjoyed getting visitors all the same.

As the young goron, whose name was Link, announced the coming of "the vegetable guy," many gorons marched out to greet him. Mark was quickly informed that sadly, Darunia; their boss, was otherwise occupied, but that a few of them had been appointed to the task of making sure that he had a full tour, and a fun time. Mark grinned when he he heard that. He suspected that the gorons wouldn't disappoint him. As large and powerful as they looked, they seemed like some of the most friendly and gentle people that Mark had met up to that point, for some reason.

A rather tall goron named Endiae was Mark's host, as he spent a few hours looking over the gorons homes and lives. The goron civilization was a very simple one; even more so than the kokiri had been, and Mark was amazed that anyone could live in such simplicity. In the mornings, there were expeditions to the Dodongos Cavern to gather fresh rocks, then the Gorons would basically just goof off for the rest of the day. One or two became salesmen or ran errands, but most of their time was spent simply enjoying one another's company in various leisure activities.

On issues of law and justice, there was almost no precedent for the gorons, since they were too busy having fun to think of committing crimes against one another, but in theory, if an issue of injustice ever arose, it was the job of the boss of the gorons to handle the issue. He'd listen to the facts, consider the matter, and decide what the right thing to do was. Then everyone just did what he said. In the old days, that justice system would have had to do, but more recently, there was another, higher court for settling injustices, which was even more theoretical to them. If the boss of the gorons ever began to act unjustly, he could be brought before the king of Hyrule, who'd distribute justice to him and his people. Having been in law practice, Mark recognized that as a rough sort of appeal, though without lawyers, juries or prosecutors. It seemed to have been designed more for simplicity's sake than to bring people justice.

Since it was midday, and the rock-gathering was over, Mark was treated to a game called "hunt practice." It resembled hide and seek, combined with tag and charades. It involved finding the other players by looking them in the eye and guessing what animal, plant or rock formation they were meant to look like, then rushing after them and tagging them gently with your hand. Mark had to admire the creativity with which the gorons developed means of having fun without resorting to the more petty pleasures. It was unlike any approach to entertainment that he'd ever seen.

At dinner that night, Mark spoke with Endiae about that very thing, in fact, and the goron's reply was very encouraging, in its own kind of way.

"We constantly work to ensure that all our people get to have fun together, but finding games that everyone likes isn't always easy."

"Why are you so concerned with pleasing everyone?" Mark asked after thinking about that for just a moment.

"Because it's the right thing to do." Endiae replied with a simple shrug.

"I'm not sure." Mark said, looking back at the plate of vegetables that he had in front of him; the only human food that the gorons had. An expression of doubt was already creeping over Mark's face, however, as he thought about the gorons' way of life.

"Where I come from," Mark eventually continued, voicing his concern "people don't worry so much about things like that. Wealth is obtained and lost, and nobody worries about everyone being happy."

"Wealth?" Endiae asked, seemingly not even understanding the word.

"Well, do you remember how I told you that money has much greater importance on my world than it does here?" Mark asked, "Wealth is the amount of money you have. Money is used to buy food, clothes, shelter, water, and just about anything else you want. With enough money, you can buy pretty much anything or anyone."

"But some people must have a huge advantage over others with a system like that." Endiae objected, "The weaker and duller would have to live out their lives being bought and sold by the rich. That doesn't seem fair."

"Unfortunately, it's not just the weak." Mark explained, "A lot of the time, very strong, intelligent, wise and dedicated people fail to obtain wealth in their lives, because the super-wealthy don't want them to. That's how it stands in my time, anyway. Almost all the money is in the hands of about ten thousand people, and most of them have little or no practical skills, but make millions for being able to act like someone else, or goof off on camera, or look nice, or tell a good joke, or even just manipulate people better than others. Getting into markets that yield lots of money, like sports, movies, or music can create very wealthy people practically overnight, without having to do hardly any of the work needed in lower-paying jobs, like engineering and police work."

"Are you suggesting that people get paid in inverse proportion to the talent they have?" Endiae asked, a little shocked by the notion.

"Not at all." Mark replied quickly, trying to clear things up for his goron host, "If you want to be really rich, talent, skill, strength and intelligence have absolutely nothing to do with it. All that really matters is that you have to be lucky, and know a lot of wealthy, famous people in a big business. Even then, if you want to get into the business yourself, you have to do exactly what they say, and then, by the time you're out from under their thumb, in the rare cases when that happens, you've become so much like them that it doesn't make a difference."

Endiae was obviously trying to change the subject a moment later, however, when he continued.

"You mentioned sports. What kind of sports do you play?"

Mark looked at him oddly for a moment, however, realizing that he was going to have to do a lot of explaining to the goron about that sort of thing.

"None, really. We really watch sports more than we play them. You see, some rich people get together once in a while and recruit a group of people to play sports. They usually recruit those people based on how talented they are at the game, but there are other factors. Anyway, once they've recruited a team of those people, they pay them millions of dollars to go out and play sports games, which we broadcast on television, so that anybody in the world can see the game, no matter how far away they are."

"But if you're not involved in the game," Endiae said, looking disappointed with Mark's reply, "You can't be too interested in it."

"Sure we can. Millions of people watch baseball and basketball every week, and not only do they watch the game, they talk about it with one another, argue about which players are the best, trade cards with pictures of the players on them, and they even make bets sometimes about who's going to win. Sometimes, we even try to imitate the players."

"Ah! So they're your heroes. You look up to them and admire them, because they represent your best. Their responsibilities must be enormous."

However, Mark was starting to feel worried again, as soon as Endiae said that, because once again, he was going to have to disappoint the goron, by contradicting one of his optimistic assumptions.

"No, not really. All they have to do is play a game every now and then, and party or roughhouse the rest of the time, and most of them get involved with dangerous drugs or dangerous people, or they become conceited and arrogant. They're just doing their job, like everybody. In fact, in their personal lives, sports players are usually more openly corrupt that anyone else."

Again, Endiae seemed to be trying to change the subject, as though searching for some means of connecting with his human visitor, however.

"What about movies? What's a movie? It sounds active."

Mark laughed at that remark for a moment, before taking a bite out of a carrot, and replying as best he could.

"'Movie' is short for 'moving picture.' It means that a series of pictures are played by so fast, that they seem to be moving. Then, sound is played too, and you get to see and hear something that isn't really there."

"So you just sit and watch?" Endiae asked, looking confused by the notion, "Sounds boring."

"No. Definitely not. Movies can be loads of fun to watch; especially old ones. There are many different kinds of movies, though. Movies usually last between an hour and four hours, and they tell stories. Sometimes, the stories are simple, about two people falling in love or something else like that. Sometimes they're about people with incredible powers fighting evil, or about monsters that terrorize mankind, or even about people suffering injustice. We have movies about all kinds of things."

"We use books and picture books for that." Endiae replied back, "They don't sound too different."

"Well, yes." Mark replied, "But buying a book in my world usually costs about eight to ten dollars. Going to see a movie once usually costs the same amount, and you have to pay again if you want to see it a second time. Plus, if you want something to eat while you watch the movie, that costs even more."

"But it can't cost much to display movies."

"Oh, it barely costs anything to display them. Most of the money goes into making them, and the rest is pocketed by the company. Sometimes, if a movie has a lot of special effects, it can cost millions of dollars to produce, but most movies make back much more than that within a few weeks."

"If it's as big a business as you say it is, I can only imagine the creativity that must go into it. Movies must be truly wonderful works of love."

Mark's smile started to fade the moment that Endiae said that, however, and after a moment or two, he decided to reply to his host as honestly as he could.

"Well, there are good movies and there are bad movies. To be honest, I haven't seen too many movies recently that tried to teach philosophy, or even real morals at all. Most of them just want to thrill the public with impressive sights and sounds."

"But if you want a thrill, why not just go outside and run around a little?" Endiae asked, still obviously confused, "I mean, sitting and doing nothing can't possibly be all that thrilling."

"It depends what you're watching." Mark replied with a shrug, "Some people disagree with you. Others, like me, prefer to watch movies about robots, aliens, and supernatural things, and wish our lives could be like that. We don't find our real lives as exciting as the things we imagine. TV is the same way."

"Then you must spend a lot of time cultivating your imagination." Endiae noted.

"No. Not really." Mark admitted, "Not since the fifties. Most people just prefer to let someone else imagine things for them and hope they can enjoy the full experience just as well by watching impassively. That's why the entertainment industry is so huge, and so many people make so much money without having to really work for it."

* * *

Unlike the other peoples who Mark had met on his journey, the gorons didn't turn against him in anger. However, they were wary of him, and a little nervous in his presence after that night, and they always seemed to find excuses to avoid mentioning him and his world, or to leave when he seemed about to boast about something his people had done. Overall, Mark felt quite unwelcome among them after that first night.

After spending two days among the goron people, Mark was shown a passageway that led to the north, through which he took the remains of the vegetables in a sack, leaving the cart behind. The path north of Death Mountain was rough, and didn't seem to have been walked on recently, but Mark could see, not far off, what looked like a small stone booth, with a slot in the center, in the shape of a great, red eye. As he approached, he heard a voice in his head, however, saying "You who come with goods, place them in the slot, and then await my arrival."

The situation was certainly strange, but Mark had seen much more bizarre things since his arrival in Hyrule, so he placed the remaining vegetables in the eye-slot, and watched as a device seemed to carry them downward, into the stone structure. Then, following the machine's instructions, he sat down on a nearby rock and just waited. Mark waited for five minutes, then ten, then fifteen. At last, he got up to stretch, and while he was in mid-stretch, he heard a chuckle from nearby.

"They were right." said a voice, which seemed to be coming from thin air, "You tire easily. You might be able to learn some of our ways, but you could never master them."

"Who's there?" Mark asked aloud, looking around in surprise and worry. Suddenly, however, a few yards off, the air seemed to waver, as though steam were passing through it from underneath, and only a moment later, when the air regained its normal appearance, a figure had appeared. He was dressed in the uniform of the shiekah; blue, white and violet, with the symbol of the red eye across his chest.

"Greetings from all three points of the Triforce." the shiekah said, his mouth concealed behind a mask.

"Greetings." Mark replied, already feeling a little scared, "That was quite a feat just now. I mean, turning invisible like that..."

"Not really." the shiekah replied, but didn't say any more than that.

"Did you get the vegetables?"

The shiekah just nodded. For a few moments more, they stood facing one another, but at last, Mark knew that he had to ask another question, to try to get at least some kind of reply from the mysterious being.

"Do you need something else?"

"I've been instructed to let you have dinner with me, and discuss whatever you want," the shiekah replied, "but you won't enter our land, or meet any other shiekah."

Mark nodded grimly when he heard that reply. It wasn't what he'd been hoping for, but he wasn't going to argue either.

"You have your secrets. I understand."

The shiekah nodded again, and turned around, walking past the booth, and into the fields beyond, which were largely brown and barren of plant life; even outside of the narrow path that his shiekah host was leading him down.

"I'd advise against straying from the path." the shiekah said as they walked along, and once again, Mark had no intention of arguing about that, or even questioning the mysterious man. For an hour or so, the two just walked along that one path, before the Shiekah reached for something in front of him, and pulled it aside. At that point, and all at once, a campsite with a pair of tents became visible before them. Mark could barely believe what he was seeing.

"Is this where you live?" Mark asked in amazement, but he was doomed to be disappointed again, because the only answer he received was cryptic, as usual.

"Sometimes."

"You don't talk much." Mark observed at last, and when it was obvious that the shiekah wasn't going to reply to his observation, he asked "Why?"

"I speak when there's something to say." the shiekah explained, then lapsed into a silence which, for Mark was pretty uncomfortable. In fact, neither one of them said another word until after dinner.

* * *

Dinner was a bare-bones affair for the shiekah, who mixed up a type of stew with meat, which, admittedly, was quite a bit better than the canned soups that Mark was accustomed to back home. The shiekah offered him some salt or sugar to go with it, but he assured his host that it didn't really need anything else.

"You're a very good cook." Mark commented, in fact, as they finally finished dinner, "Where did you learn to make a meal like that?"

"I learned that skill from the greatest of all teachers." the shiekah said with some pride, "Practice."

Mark smiled when he heard that, but if the shiekah smiled back, he couldn't tell because of the mask. He suspected, however, that his host hadn't smiled. It made things more than a little uncomfortable between the two of them, as if the shiekah kept needing to conceal things because of some tradition or ritual. In the end, however, Mark decided that all he could do was ask a few questions, and hope that they were taken well.

"Obviously, you have a lot of secrets to protect, but can't you tell me anything about yourself?" Mark eventually asked, hoping to at least find out something about his host.

"I can't reveal much to you, I'm afraid." the shiekah replied, "Our traditions forbid us a great deal. I can tell you, though, that I haven't set foot inside a town or city for the past four years. I've roamed on the wild planes, forests and mountains of this land with my home in a bag for even longer than that."

"Why?"

"Mmm?"

"Why do you have to roam? Why not settle down and marry? Raise a family? Have some kids?"

However, when Mark asked that, the shiekah replied in a somewhat regretful tone of voice for the first time since the two had met.

"Ah. I'm sorry, but I'm not permitted to answer that question in full. I will tell you, however, that my roaming is by choice, and that it's also requested of me by others."

"Those wanderings must be a huge sacrifice for you." Mark observed in astonishment.

Since meeting that mysterious figure, Mark hadn't expected him to show even the least bit of emotion, but at that moment, the shiekah burst out laughing, shocking Mark into silence, even before his host spoke again.

"I've sacrificed nothing." the shiekah said in amusement, "My life travels with me. I've known since my childhood how to slay animals or pick fruit from trees for food. I've known since adolescence how to guard myself against attackers and monsters, and since my teenage years, I've been practicing every other skill I need for survival, not that there are many of those, in a land as rich in life and resources as Hyrule."

Mark was pleased to have uncovered a side of that person that seemed vaguely human by that point, and at last, he said "Can you at least tell me one thing? What's the purpose of your wanderings? What's your ultimate destination?"

"I'm not traveling to any place in specific." the shiekah explained quickly, "My journey is mainly one of self-improvement."

"Self-improvement?"

"Indeed. You yourself commented on how acceptable my recipe has become. This is only one of a thousand areas of my life in which I've improved immeasurably since setting out from the land of my fathers."

"Because out here, you get to spend time with your greatest of all teachers." Mark correctly supposed.

"Indeed." the shiekah replied again, "Practice is the most effective teacher in the wilderness."

"I guess I just think it's a little strange," Mark noticed aloud, "My people haven't had any tradition like that for over forty years."

"You don't care about improving yourselves?"

"Well, it's not that, so much as that everybody is scared of everybody else. We're always worried that someone will leap out of an alley with a weapon and attack us. Our lives are spent in fear of lawlessness."

"Your entire world sounds like a wilderness." the shiekah observed, "Don't you have any laws for dealing with sentient creatures who start battles like that?"

"Well, we do have a legal system."

With that, Mark began to describe to the shiekah the concepts of the human legal system. Trials and judges were things that he was familiar with, but he had some difficulty in understanding the concepts of juries, prosecutors and lawyers. At last, he made an observation, obviously much more eager to learn and improve himself than most of the people who Mark had met.

"I'm not sure I understand. I mean, surely, if one person can't make a decent ruling, a dozen won't make a better one, and will only complicate things."

"In our civilization," Mark tried to explain, "we believe that it's best to get a lot of people to decide on one thing instead of one person. It seems more like a communism if you only have one person deciding everything."

"What about lawyers?" the shiekah asked, "You say they defend and prosecute at court. Do you mean that they defend the innocent and prosecute the guilty?"

"Well, sometimes, but most of the time, the most money is in cases where the defendant is guilty, or the prosecuted client is innocent, because a lot of those cases involve very wealthy people, who just try to do whatever they want, and pay everyone to let them."

"You keep mentioning money. Doesn't your government pay for all these trial proceedings?"

"No. The government doesn't have enough money to pay for everything. The prosecutor has to pay to arrange a prosecution, and the defendant has to pay to arrange a suitable defense."

"Then your people have no way of getting justice for themselves against someone wealthier than them?"

"Well, you have to understand that our justice system is a business, and like all businesses, the more money you have, the better off you are. If two poor people get into a dispute, it might be resolved fairly, but you can't use the justice system to bring down a rich person. In fact, more recently, the wealthy have been using the justice system to override the decisions of the president on several matters."

"So your people allow money to make your laws? It sounds as though there ought to have been a rebellion."

"No. Rebellions aren't possible, because the government has all the best weapons. If anyone tried to organize a rebellion, they'd be limited by a lack of money, lack of weapons, and a lack of manpower, due to the national apathy in our country right now."

"What about your religions? Are they run by money too?"

"Well, yes, but religions don't exercise influence over the people the way the justice system does. They just teach morals and faiths. People who believe in divine beings go to a church, a temple, or another place of worship, offer money freely to help support them, and listen as the priest, rabbi or bishop teaches them about morals and the divine."

"Worthwhile teachings. In time, they might even change your world."

"You know, there's something that's been worrying me about your world too." Mark observed aloud, finally voicing his concern to the one person in the kingdom who didn't seem to have reacted badly to his stories, "You seem to wield a lot of magic in Hyrule."

"It's not uncommon." the shiekah replied blankly.

"Do you know what magic is?"

"Yes. It's a force of energy, which is generated within the body, and through practice and concentration, it can be shaped to perform various effects."

"No, it isn't."

"Yes, it is. We've studied it thoroughly. We even know which parts of the body generate the magical force; which reminds me; you seem to generate very little."

"I see." Mark muttered to himself for a moment. Both of them seemed to have realized simultaneously that magic was a different thing in each of their worlds.

"What's magic in your world?" the shiekah inquired, though he hid his feelings as he was asking that question.

"Magic is a force or effect produced by a divine being." Mark explained slowly, "It comes in two varieties; magik and miracles. Miracles are sent from God, and usually used for healing and teaching. They're usually only performed by people of great faith, or else, by God, acting on his own. Magik is a force generated by a demon or devil, which a person comes in contact with. They tap into the power of those evil spirits, and cause things to happen with that power, but the effects are temperamental, and almost never accomplish what they want."

For a few moments after the shiekah had heard all that, he just sat in thought, processing the new information, but soon, he made a fresh observation.

"No wonder you were suspicious. In your world, there's no such thing as mortal magic."

"Right."

The two men sat in silence for a few moments after that. Eventually, however, the shiekah stood, saying, "Your trip back to Hyrule can begin at any time. I have many feelings about you. I pity you for what your world seems like, but I also envy you your situation now. You're faced with the chance to see the wonders of our world as a newborn would. Take that chance as soon as you can."

Mark felt a little chagrined at having his world insulted like that, but no more than usual, so he rose and shook the shiekah's hand.

"Can I know your name before I return to Kakariko?" Mark asked with curiosity. He knew that he was requesting a great gift of that shiekah, but he had to ask anyway.

The shiekah said nothing for a few moments, as if he were debating with himself carefully, but eventually, he replied, "Genry."

By that point, the shiekah seemed to have said all that he felt there was to say, because a moment later, he vanished into thin air again, and Mark was left alone, with no cargo left, to return to Kakariko by retracing his steps.


	14. Pt2 Ch6 Mortal Terror

Chapter 6: Mortal Terror

* * *

The hylian boy wandered back and forth between the tough, brick columns. He thought that he was pretty clever for not only sneaking into the Gerudo Fortress, but for climbing past the gate at the other end, and navigating the desert beyond, to reach their most sacred temple. For a long time, the boy had heard the tales of how the gerudo lived their lives, proving their worth by stealing from others. Surely, among them, his recent feats would have been almost legendary, since he'd stolen five items of power from the gerudo themselves, in order to get where he was, and soon, he'd steal their greatest treasure too.

The boy thought pretty highly of himself at that moment. He thought he'd outwitted the entire gerudo race, taken what he wanted, and been observed by no one.

However, a hylian's youth is the time when they're most expected to make mistakes, and that's what the boy had done. He'd come close to getting away with his numerous triumphs against the gerudo; very close, in fact, but close just wasn't good enough. The boy had made only one mistake. He hadn't studied the gerudo lore of the Spirit Temple nearly enough before entering it, or he would have known that a power beyond sight watched his transgressions carefully; two powers, in fact, and although they were many miles away, they both saw him, and made a decision together.

The boy dove forward, under a beam being fired from a statue, and slid through a doorway. Though only eight years old, the boy was quite nimble and swift, and was ducking in and out of the traps and challenges set in place by the ancient gerudo long ago, as if they meant nothing to him. At last, he came to a large, golden door, with markings all over it, which he recognized as a less strict form of gerudo text. He pulled out the book that he'd taken from the house of the former gerudo king Malor, and looked it over. It was a book called "The Book of Maelo," which could translate gerudo from hylian text. Swiftly, sitting down on the hard clay floor, with the book open on his lap, the boy began to translate the inscriptions on the door.

"Herein lies the mighty gerudo treasure of Agnoo; second king of the gerudo, father of Herano; third gerudo queen, whose efforts built the mighty Spirit Temple to honor the ever-present goddess of the sands."

The boy's hands trembled, as he continued to read the forbidden inscription, "Good fortune may be granted to any who touch the sacred treasure, and so, a terrible curse has been placed upon it, for it may never again be touched by mortal hands. Let now fates both good and ill rest upon any person fool enough to enter through this door and tempt the... the scourges of the desert... by touching the sacred treasure."

"Scourges of the desert?" the boy asked himself in confusion. He hadn't heard anything about that. Could there be, he wondered, some creatures there that he hadn't been aware of? Something he hadn't planned for? No, he insisted. He'd taken every precaution. That sign was a warning to scare off the cowardly, or at best, it referred to some hidden trap, that he could handle, or some threat that had died off a long time ago.

Putting the Book of Maelo back into his bag, the boy retrieved a small nut, which he tossed against the ground after stepping back a few inches. Nothing happened, however, which was a good sign. Swiftly, he removed a large gemstone from his pocket, and clearing away the dust and cobwebs from around the middle of the golden door, he placed the gem into a recess in its center. At once, he heard the sound of gears working, and the door slid up, revealing a beautiful room beyond. It had been enclosed for eighty generations, but it was still beautiful, because every inch of it seemed to shine with gems.

In the center of the room was a huge pedestal, on which rested a pair of glasses with pink lenses. Overcome with joy over his find, the boy rushed forward, and up the steps he found there, when suddenly, he heard one of the steps slide into place, and began to realize how careless he'd been, as it triggered just the sort of trap that he should have been on the lookout for. From the walls surrounding the chamber, there came a razor-sharp arrow, speeding in his direction so swiftly, that dodging it was impossible. The boy closed his eyes in shame and fear, but just then, he heard a sharp, crashing sound, like the sound made when a heavy mallet cracked ice. When he dared to open his eyes again, however, he found that not only had the arrow not struck him, but it was lying in pieces on the floor, in a puddle of water. However, that wasn't the only thing that had changed while his eyes had been closed.

There was someone else in the room with him; someone who'd frozen the arrow in the air, disrupting its path. Franticly, the boy looked around, and when he still couldn't see anyone, he began to fear for his life again. Swiftly, the boy descended the stairs again, and rushed for the door, but before he could leave the chamber, two clouds of smoke erupted in front of him, and he was knocked onto his back by the sudden apparition in front of him. The boy watched in stunned horror, as two shapes emerged from the smoke, and all at once, one of them threw something into his arms.

The boy was absolutely flabbergasted. It was the treasure; the glasses with the pink lenses.

"We suspected you were after that, didn't we?" cackled one voice, high and screechy.

"Yes, that we did." another answered from no more than a yard away from the first.

As the clouds of smoke dissipated, however, the boy could see that the voices had come from two gerudo witches, each shriveled and old beyond any reasonable resemblance to the rest of their race, grinning at him with ancient, rotted teeth, being held together seemingly by willpower alone. They floated in the air, atop broomsticks, and one had a blue gem on her forehead, while the other had a red one.

"What shall we do with him, Koume?" the first asked.

"He'll need to be punished, of course, Kotake." the second replied.

The boy trembled, as he tried to back away from them, while still sitting on the ground. Would they kill him, he wondered, or turn him in to the other gerudo for what he'd done?

"He was rude to come in here without permission, Koume."

"But brave as well, Kotake."

"But stupid, Koume."

"He was trying to rob this temple of its treasure, Kotake."

"We shall have to rob him of something he values, Koume."

At that point, they both turned to face him again, their grins as hideous as ever, as they both said in unison, "His life."

"No!" the boy shouted, "You can't kill me! The king of Hyrule will hear about it, and there'll be a war!"

"I doubt that." one of them remarked cruelly, "Anyway, who said anything about killing you?"

"We only want to take away what you've achieved so far." the other continued a moment later, "All the things you've done in your life will mean nothing."

Then, raising their four hands at once, their entire bodies brimming with a massive enchantment, Koume and Kotake fired at the boy. He screamed, as the enchantment passed through his body, infecting his every cell with foreign matter; transforming his entire body into something that it hadn't been at birth. His skin darkened, the tips of his ears dulled, and he felt his strength nearly triple as he realized what he was becoming, and knew why his family could never see him again. The boy was no longer in pain, but he screamed anyhow. He screamed for a long time, in fact, before realizing that he was no longer in the temple...

* * *

Stalflare screamed as he woke up in bed. It wasn't an uncommon nightmare for him. That day, so long ago, had been one of the most terrifying moments of his life; a moment when he felt as if he was truly at the mercy of others. It was horrible for a hylian to feel, and even worse for a gerudo.

"However, it doesn't feel quite as bad, now that I'm a greide zwooda." Stalflare mused, his breathing returning to normal, as he got out of bed and picked up his staff. Recently, he'd gotten into the habit of sleeping on one side, to keep from getting his wings all twisted, and it wasn't, he found, uncomfortable at all, though it did tend to provoke nightmares. In fact, in a way, it even made it easier for him to get up in the morning.

As he stepped out into the hallway between the rooms of the hyrulian team, Stalflare discovered that most of the others were already there. Ruto was there, looking wide awake and ready to begin. Link was just as prepared as he always was, and Zelda seemed to have recovered completely from her last fight. If anything, she looked as though her senses had improved since then, because she'd obviously been expecting Stalflare to arrive for quite some time. Darunia was there, but Stalflare thought, for a moment, that he must have been another goron in disguise, because his face was a mask of sternness and anger, of the sort that Stalflare rarely saw belonging to anyone but Link and himself, and on Link he only saw it in battle. That worried the gerudo warrior quite a bit, but he said nothing, for the moment, about it. Instead, he focused on the one member of their team who still hadn't arrived.

"Where's Byrna run off to?"

Link grimaced when he heard that question, but he replied to it quickly enough.

"She never showed up. She sent me a note this morning asking if we could stall our new enemies for a while, but she didn't give me a reason why."

"Obviously, because she knew how late she'd be." Stalflare grumbled, although Link just ignored his comment completely, and turned his head to the door out, towards the teleport area, because it had just opened, and the evil-looking guard had crept in.

"Only eight teams remain in the contest." the guard said as soon as he was sure that he'd gotten the attention of the hylian champions, "Your fight will begin shortly."

"Wait." Link said, grabbing the man by the shoulder, and causing him to leap a surprising distance, "One of our team members isn't here yet. Can't we stall the fights?"

"N-no." the man stammered, clearly more terrified than ever, "The best you can do is ask your other members to fight first, and hope your last fighter shows up before the last fight. Otherwise, one of you will have to take her place."

Then, the wretched-looking guard scurried from the room, as though the devil himself were at his heels.

"So that's it." Link realized aloud, "We have to fight now, and we have to hope Byrna shows up in time for her battle. If she doesn't, one of us might need to fight twice."

* * *

Soon, the five champions of Hyrule walked out into the teleport area once again, and looked across the platform at the opposing team. Sure enough, that team still had all six of their fighters, which meant that they'd have to be particularly nasty opponents. That time, all of them appeared roughly humanoid, though. There were three women and three men among them. One woman wore a helmet with a long fin on top, which obscured the upper part of her face, and a white robe, fastened to her waist by a belt. She wore a pair of sandals on her feet as well.

The second woman had what looked like a long, metal quiver on her back, and a spear in one hand. She also wore a helmet, but hers obscured no part of her face. However, aside from that, it seemed to have been designed for battle protection. She wore a robe, belt and sandals, just like her companion did, but her robe was red, and she was clearly wearing some manner of armor underneath it.

The third woman was positively enormous; at least eight feet tall, and she probably weighed almost as much as Darunia, but it was impossible to tell, because a light blue robe flowed over her body without a belt on it. She also wore sandals on her feet, and around her head was a wreath made of leaves.

The first of the men next to them was young and cocky-looking, appearing to be no more than a teenager, with long, blond hair, which seemed to stick directly out and up like barley in a field. He wore a belted robe and sandals, like the first two women, but his robe shined a bright yellow color, and he had what looked like a bow and a quiver of arrows slung across his torso. His face had an expression, as though he were a child who spent his days tormenting small animals. Obviously, he was a very unruly sort.

Next to him was a tall man with long, red hair and a beard, who, from his expression, looked like a decent sort of person to know. He was dressed, not in robes, like the others, but in light, yet sturdy battle armor, which covered his torso, his arms, legs, feet, and the upper part of his head. A leather belt was strapped across his waist, and attached to it were a pouch that seemed to contain gold, a canteen full of some liquid, and a bag that Link could only suppose contained some kind of rations. What Link found most curious was that that man had no place to put his weapon, which he held in one or both of his hands at all times. It was a curious weapon too; a long, heavy war hammer made of an odd-looking metal that Link had never seen before.

The last of the fighters was a man, just as tall as the red-haired one, wearing a white, belted robe and sandals, similar to the one worn by the first woman, but his muscles were very large and pronounced, like his red-haired ally, and his hair and beard were much larger and bushier, and were colored brown. Whenever he moved, a sound could be heard, as though some liquid were sizzling in a pan.

Link could tell at once that those foes wouldn't be simple to defeat. That was never shocking, of course. What was shocking was what he saw when he looked over at Princess Zelda. She was frozen in absolute terror.

"Zelda! Zelda!" Link exclaimed, grabbing her by the arms and shaking her pretty roughly as he tried to get her attention again, "What is it? What's the matter?"

For a moment, the fear seemed to pass from the princess' face, and Zelda gazed into Link's eyes again, but she looked just as scared a moment later, when she spoke to the hero of her kingdom.

"I tried to read the small one's mind." she said, pointing to the arrogant-looking, blond-haired fighter, "Link, all I can get is a general sense that they're afraid of one another. There's nothing else."

Link looked over the opposite team for a moment. He had to admit that he'd been getting that sense himself. He could tell that the two large men were suspicious of the others, especially the large woman, and that she was suspicious of them, and also that the other three were almost terrified of the larger fighters, though they tried to hide it. He himself could tell all that just from their expressions and posture, but he couldn't figure out anything else about them.

"Are they shielding their minds?" Link asked, trying to understand just why Zelda was having so much trouble.

"It's more than that." Zelda realized aloud, however, "I don't even think they realized I was trying to read their minds. Link, these people have near-impregnable defenses from mind probes. I don't know where they learned to develop disciplines like those. It would take a normal person thousands of years, but these people have the most powerful minds I've ever sensed."

"Oh, great." Link thought to himself, still vividly remembering what it had felt like when the princess had struck him with a mental attack. He'd certainly been hoping to avoid fighting people with powers like those, but from the looks of things, there wasn't much choice for any of them.

Of course, Link's fear still couldn't hold him back. He knew that there was a good chance that none of them would be able to handle more than one of the enemy, and for that reason among others, he had to hope that Byrna was hurrying. However, a moment later, when he straightened up to look at his team, he had something very different that he wanted to say.

"I'm going first this time."

No one was going to argue if the Hero of Time truly wanted to be the first one to fight, of course, so he stepped up to the platform in the center of the teleport area, and was met there by the woman in the red robe.

"My name is Link." he said, looking her carefully in the eyes.

"Artemis." she just replied, seemingly unready to tell him anything else about herself. Swiftly, though, they stepped into their teleport devices, and were somewhere else.

* * *

During their past fights, Link and his team had always wound up in quiet places in the wilderness, but as if by some horrible stroke of cruelty, he and his enemy weren't just teleported into the midst of people, but into a place where they were being watched. Link shielded his eyes as he looked around. He was on a raised, square platform, with two rather muscular people in tight outfits standing nearby, gaping open-mouthed at him. The platform was enclosed by a series of thick, flexible, brightly-colored ropes, held up by four sturdy poles, positioned at the platform's edges. Off to one side was a table, where three people were watching him in awe, and beyond that in all directions, some flimsy-looking seats contained many people for quite a ways away. Above them all were many bright lights, and other glass devices like nothing that Link had ever seen before.

For a few seconds, Link and Artemis just stood in the small area, with the two muscular men nearby, apparently wondering what to do next. However, before long, Artemis clamped her spear onto the platform, and began to strike out with it in long swipes, that Link was forced to leap over or duck under to avoid. At last, he began to use his shield to deflect the strikes, and he saw her frustration at being thwarted by him in a moment. Swiftly, she shoved the spear into the metal container on her back, and pulled out a bow and arrow. Link readied his shield as she fired, but soon, he was horrified to see that she'd fired, not at him, but at the roof overhead. Instead of wedging itself in the ceiling, however, as a normal arrow would do, that arrow plunged directly through the ceiling, breaking large chunks of it apart, and causing the people, who'd been seated under that section of the ceiling, to scream and run for the exit. Most of the other people there began to rush for the doors as well, as Artemis fitted another arrow into her bow.

However, before she could make another move, Link snatched the arrow from her hand, and delivered a vicious punch to her chin, sending her flying upwards, where her head became lodged in the ceiling. Link hadn't expected his blow to do so little damage, though. In fact, he'd expected her, at the very least, to have been knocked unconscious by it.

Artemis didn't seem to have suffered even so much as a bruise from Link's last attack. Strapping the bow across one of her shoulders, she yanked a sword from the container on her back, and plunged back down towards Link, with her blade directed downward. Having seen the damage that her arrows were capable of doing, Link quickly decided that it would be best to avoid her blade, and ducked out of the way as fast as he could.

It was a wise move, on his part. When Artemis swung her weapon in a huge, downward slice, she cleaved the platform beneath them like butter, and when she lifted her sword again, the platform shattered like glass, and Link was thrown off-balance, and sent plummeting to the ground.

Like a true warrior born, Artemis pressed her momentary advantage, but as she prepared to drive her sword into Link's chest, his foot shot out and knocked her arm aside, giving him enough time to throw something small at the ground.

There was a blinding flash, and for a moment, Artemis stumbled back, looking disoriented and stunned. However, she seemed to hear it when Link leapt to his feet, and dashed a short distance away. By that point, Link had realized what kinds of powers her weapons possessed, and was trying to plan some kind of counter-attack. In the moments before her eyesight returned, Artemis seemed to be straining to hear his movements, but Link was experienced in keeping his motions silent. Moments later, Link delivered a powerful, double-handed blow to the base of his enemy's spine, and she flew forward, colliding with one of the walls, though again, the attack hadn't done any real damage to her.

By the time Artemis had gotten to her feet, her eyesight was clearly back to normal, and her eyes were immediately fixed on Link; one of his hands on the opening of his equipment bag, and the other on the hilt of his sword. From that position, he could have reached any of his weapons at a moment's notice, and she must have realized that.

Having looked around while Artemis had been blinded, to make sure that there weren't any more innocent people nearby, Link found that he was at liberty to use any of his weapons or powers against his foe at that point. For the moment, he had two plans, but he was also ready to develop more if it came to that. Swiftly, he yanked a bomb from his pack, tossed it into the air, and clubbed it with his sword on the way down, watching it sail horizontally across the room, and into Artemis, where it exploded in her face.

The ash and smoke of the explosion obscured all view of Artemis for a while, but when it cleared, Link could tell that although there was ash all over her, she hadn't been injured by the explosion at all. What was worse, though, was that she seemed to be learning to imitate his weapons. Link watched in horror as she pulled a bomb similar to his from her weapon container, only much larger, and of a different hue. As she hurled it at him, he had only a few moments to set up a defense.

The explosion filled the whole room, engulfing both combatants in fiery destruction, and incinerating the surrounding chairs, lights, and the ropes surrounding the ring. It was a devastating blast, which set fire to the walls, and the ceiling was already starting to cave in, but Link was still alive.

As the blow glow of Nayru's Love protected Link from the blast of the initial explosion, he thought to himself, "She must have underestimated the power of her own weapons. She must not have known how strong the blast would be. She must not... must not..."

However, just then, the ceiling came down with a horrifying crash. Link struggled, using the might of his golden gauntlets to move the debris above him, hoping and praying that the next second, Nayru's Love wouldn't give out and allow the burning debris to crush his still-covered legs, but the noise he made in that effort to get out wasn't the only noise to be heard among the rubble.

"She must not... must not..." Link continued to stammer in disbelief, "She must not have survived that!"

However, just as before, Link saw chunks of masonry nearby shattering like glass, and knew at once that somewhere under the rubble, Artemis was using her sword to dig her way out.

That was when the truth hit Link. He didn't know why he hadn't suspected it before. Maybe he was too used to fighting people who could be beaten by a simple arrow through the chest, but he knew at once that Artemis, and quite possibly her other teammates, weren't like the other fighters they'd faced up to that point. Artemis was immortal; she was, in fact, virtually a goddess.

However, when Link thought about it, he realized that he shouldn't have been surprised. The invitation to the conflict had said nothing about the champions needing to be mortal, but if she really was a goddess, then Link could think of only one possible way to beat her, and only if she truly lived her life by both experiencing and causing fear, as he suspected.

Link drew his sword in a flash. It was such an obvious weapon, that he hadn't thought to use it at first, but the Master Sword had, in the past, cut through many things that couldn't die; mist, fire, raw energy; it made no difference. All that mattered was that the substances was wielded by a heart full of wickedness. Maybe, he thought, the enchantments surrounding the Master Sword weren't as strong as the ones that produced Artemis' immortality, but there was only one way to find out.

Just as Artemis clambered to her feet from under the rubble, without a single scratch on her, Link leapt forward, and delivered a blow with his sword. Windows shattered all across the city they were in, as the titanic power of the Master Sword, wielded by the leader of Hyrule's champions, reinforced by the magic strength of the golden gauntlets, scraped across the invulnerable skin of the goddess. Irresistible force met immovable object, and for a moment, it seemed that they would annihilate each other.

At last, however, Link drew back, and Artemis remained standing. However, Link was satisfied, because he knew that he at least had a chance. There was a cut of about an inch long in Artemis' cheek.

Artemis, however, was far from satisfied with that development. She shrieked and clutched her cheek in both hands, like a person who'd never bled before, dropping her sword to the ground. As Link advanced on her for a second strike, however, her combat instinct returned, and she kicked him in the chin, sending him flying backwards. That gave her time to retrieve her weapon, but Link had never let go of his. He recovered quickly, getting back up, and studying her again, for further signs of weakness.

"I'm still not doing enough damage" Link thought to himself through a busted jaw, "I need some way to use the Master Sword with more force, but what's stronger than the golden gauntlets?"

At once, however, the answer became obvious to the Hero of Time.

"My heart." he realized, and at once, he began to concentrate again, directing the intentions of his body and soul to a single point, and once again, there came a beam from the Master Sword, which tore through the air, and just as Artemis charged forward, it plunged directly through her chest, as if her immortal body was made of nothing more than warm butter. Link watched in dismay, as she fell to the ground, but he could see that as badly as she was injured, she'd live, and probably even walk again, depending on how good the healers of her world were.

* * *

In mere moments after the mighty goddess was beaten, Link found himself back in the teleportation area. She was picked up by the red-haired warrior, and laid down near the others a moment later, but Link had soon walked over to her, because there was something that he wanted to say to them before any more of the fighting could continue.

"I thought I'd give you all some advise." Link said, looking down at Artemis first, then around at the others, "There are forces in the universe more powerful than all of you combined. You know that, or you wouldn't be fighting us. Learn to figure out who you need to fear the most; your allies or your enemies."

Artemis, however, replied to Link's warning herself, with a furious cough, before Link had even made it back to his team.

"You know nothing about who my allies are, fool. Don't preach to me."

The others on her team, however, seemed to have decided not to say any more until the time came for their own fights.

Unfortunately, Byrna hadn't returned from whatever she was doing yet, so Stalflare decided that he'd fight next. However, as he stepped up to the platform, he was met by the teenager with the unusual hair, and that made him feel pretty silly, to be fighting someone who looked so young.

"Turn back, boy." Stalflare said darkly, "I'd prefer to fight a true warrior."

As he said that, however, the boy grinned openly, as did the red-haired fighter in the armor behind him, but Stalflare could tell that it was for different reasons.

"Entire armies of true warriors have fallen to my power." the boy remarked with a cruel grin, "Kingdoms have struggled, competed and quested for the merest chance at appeasing my wrath. Show me your warrior's spirit, winged one. You can't possibly be more impressive than what I've tormented before."

Stalflare was truly irritated with him by that point, however, and in a moment, he asked "What did you say your name was?"

"You can call me Apollo." the boy said with an even wider grin than he'd been wearing seconds before, which Stalflare wouldn't have thought him capable of without actually seeing it, "I'm the god of the sun."

Not intimidated by that in the least, however, Stalflare replied "And I'm Stalflare; greide zwooda, skilled sorcerer, and the mightiest warrior of Gerudo Valley. If you think you can overpower me, then let's find out who's really the strongest."

"Yes. Let's." the boy said, with an annoying twinkle in his eye. Moments later, though, they both stepped silently into their teleportation devices, and were elsewhere.

* * *

Having spent no more than a few hours among the shiekah, Mark found himself returning to Kakariko Village much sooner than he'd originally planned. Regardless, however, Ramie met with him almost as soon as he'd arrived, and he was pretty eager to talk with her again.

"Ramie, I'm planning to head for the castle town for a couple of days, and I'm wondering if you can put your job on hold for a while to come with me." Mark suggested.

"Why?" she asked, just looking puzzled by the suggestion.

"To be honest," Mark replied with a sheepish smile, "I've never been to a castle before. I'd love to have someone I know there to help me out."

"Ah." Ramie said with a big grin, "You need a guide. If you have any problems navigating the place, I'm sure any of the guards could give you a tour once you make sure to tell them the business you're there on. However, if you just want my company..."

At that, Ramie seized Mark's left arm tightly, before she continued, "...then I'd be happy to come along. Just try to behave yourself, okay?"

Mark smiled very broadly at that point, because it was just as much as he could have hoped for. He was starting to think of Ramie as his new best friend, in the whole strange, different world that he'd wound up in, and he was very happy to have her help, no matter what else he had to do with the rest of his life.

"Okay," Mark replied in delight.

* * *

The area where Stalflare found himself was, fortunately, not as crowded as the one that Link had appeared in, but it was just as obviously man-made. They were above a city, with buildings hundreds of feet high. Stalflare and Apollo were standing together on top of one of the skyscrapers, looking around at the air of the city, as though seeing it as the perfect place for their unique abilities to function.

Stalflare took to the air at once, and his opponent did as well, only a moment later, which surprised the gerudo warrior a bit. He hadn't expected Apollo to be able to fly, but it did make some sense. Someone calling themselves "god of the sun" would naturally be able to sail through the air unaided.

Without a word, the fight began, and Stalflare started by flying around behind Apollo, looking for a spot to strike from. However, Apollo was keeping up with him quite well as the two of them flew. Once he realized that he was going to have a hard time finding a weak point, however, Stalflare zipped forward, and with every ounce of his impressive strength and speed, he delivered several dozen punches to Apollo's head, back and midsection. Apollo seemed to feel the blows connect, and was knocked back and forth through the air by their power, but when the attack stopped, he rose back up through the air again, completely unharmed by the assault. He didn't even look as though he'd been bruised at all, and that was when Stalflare started to feel afraid again, just as he had when fighting Kodacho.

"Let me show you why I'm called the sun god." Apollo said aloud, as Stalflare started to back off, and the small immortal raised one hand into the air. Stalflare could feel that the air around him was beginning to change into something different, but he couldn't tell what, how or why. Suddenly, however, Apollo began moving his arms with such speed, that Stalflare could only just barely keep track of his movements, and when he finally stopped, he had both hands outstretched, as though grasping for something. Mere moments later, that something became visible, as two orbs of blazing flame appeared in Apollo's hands.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" Apollo asked aloud, as he gripped the flames still tighter, causing them to flare up even more; tongues of fire licking through the spaces between his fingers, "Each one maintains a constant heat of ten thousand degrees. They're slivers of the sun's corona; its very center brought into my hand. I've destroyed whole cities with these in the past."

Stalflare had no difficulty believing that, even as he raised his staff in front of him. If they were really as hot as Apollo claimed, even he wouldn't be able to deflect them completely.

Once again, Apollo began to use his vast speed to his advantage, waving his arms back and forth, throwing the orbs of intense flame at Stalflare in volleys. The roofs of the buildings around Stalflare practically exploded, as he tried to sift through as many of the fireballs as he could, using his staff and the palms of his hands, and although his staff wasn't harmed by the intense flames, his hands were badly singed. Worse yet, one of his wings, as well as his left leg were struck by the attacks. Fire surrounded Stalflare in moments, and his so-called immunity to heat was finally proven to have its limits, when his skin began to char, and he was forced to spin the head of his staff again, until it was positioned properly for the casting of cold spells. Stalflare hadn't attempted a cold spell for quite some time, but he knew that if he wanted to defend himself from his fiery enemy, it was ice that he needed.

In a few moments, the aura around Stalflare changed again, and he began to radiate a powerful chill. The fire took only a few moments to go out, but he had no time to heal himself, because his enemy was already preparing another attack.

In the next moment, Apollo was throwing fireballs again, but by that time, Stalflare had a plan. His magic wasn't as powerful as Apollo's, but maybe...

Quickly, Stalflare concentrated all the frosty magic in his body into his hands, then fired out chilling blasts towards the oncoming fireballs. The chill wasn't strong enough to extinguish the white-hot missiles completely, but they weakened when they passed through it. Enough, in fact, that when they hit Stalflare's body, he only felt a little pain. Their heat dropped by nearly eight thousand degrees, and he found that when they struck him as merely ordinary fireballs, they fizzled out, and he could feel their power traveling into his own magic reserves.

Rising up into the air, Stalflare zipped forward, towards Apollo, and gave him many frosty punches, finally bringing both his fists down on his enemy at once. Then, as the small immortal sailed downward, Stalflare formed a massive, glacier-sized slab of ice in his hands, and hurled it down after his enemy. Feeling drained from the battle, the mighty gerudo landed nearby, and was on the ground when he heard the impact of his icy weapon with his foe's body. As he stood and watched the ice settling, however, people began to gather around him. They were city-dwellers, most of whom had never seen anyone wield magic powers before, and they were in awe of his wings, and the feats that he'd just performed, but suddenly, even though he seemed to have gained the upper hand, two more worries occurred to Stalflare. The first was that he hadn't yet returned to the teleportation area, and the second was that the ice he'd dropped on top of his enemy was continuing to settle, cracking, and getting smaller, as though it were being melted by some horrifying source of heat.

In the past, Stalflare would have just dove forward into battle again, but for some reason, that time, he thought, for a moment, about something other than the fight; glancing around at the crowd of people, who were staring at him, and at the massive glacier he'd just used as a weapon.

"Everyone run!" Stalflare exclaimed, in a voice like thunder, "I mean it! Evacuate the area right now!"

Hardly anyone had known who he was, or where he'd come from, but with those orders, the people nearby started to see that he was a heroic figure, with a desire to protect them from a force that didn't care whether they lived or died, and many who'd mistrusted him moments before began to see him as a protector. As the people hurried to obey his command, he even heard one man speak him as he rushed by.

"Good luck, man."

By that point, only ten feet of ice remained; a mere fraction of what it had been minutes before, and Stalflare knew that he had to take action; had to try to contain Apollo somehow, and win the fight, but the next time he saw his enemy, he could tell that it wasn't going to be easy. The sun god was glowing with an aura of flame, much like the one that Stalflare himself possessed, but a dozen times more intense. It was that aura, clearly, that had melted the ice, turned the water to steam, and propelled the steam away. Stalflare knew that trying to punch Apollo at that point would mean burning his hand off, especially since his own magic power was almost entirely spent, and it was obvious that Apollo still had plenty.

Leaping into the air, Stalflare took off, and zipped back and forth between the three or four buildings that he knew had been evacuated, with Apollo in close pursuit. When he realized that his enemy wasn't getting tired, though, he knew that he had to try something else, and flung himself through a window in one of the empty buildings. Landing quickly inside the large structure, Stalflare could see that most of the floors were made of marble, and other stone and metal materials, and the windows were mainly glass, so one final idea occurred to him at that point. Quickly, Stalflare flung open the door at the end of the room, and rushed down the stairs beyond it, into a room underground, with a large, metal, canister-like object along one wall; which was nearly seven feet tall, and after just a moment, he'd hidden in the shadows near it. He could hear a loud crashing and banging noise upstairs, and smell burning furniture a few moments later, however, and from that, he could tell that just as he'd planned, Apollo had followed him into that building, and was tearing it apart with his powers. It was only a matter of time, in fact, before he made his way down to where Stalflare was hiding.

In fact, it was a very short time later. In mere moments, Apollo came floating into the room with a bow in his hands, fitted with a flaming arrow, and Stalflare began to sweat from the intense heat that his opponent was radiating, but he knew that he had to wait for just the right moment before he made his move.

"Where are you hiding, dark angel?" Apollo asked in a mocking voice, "You told me you wanted to fight a real warrior. I'm sorry I couldn't oblige. Maybe you'd have had a chance against a warrior, that you could never have had against a god."

"Only a few more moments." Stalflare thought to himself silently, as the sweat rolled off his wings, "Three, two, one..."

Apollo had reached the center of the basement by that point, and in a swift motion, Stalflare uprooted the water-heater he was hiding behind, and tipped it over onto Apollo. The water was turned to steam almost at once, and Stalflare, in his weakened state, knew that he couldn't take much more of that heat, but refused to give up the attack, so he knew that there was only one more course of action he could take.

Leaping upwards, Stalflare tore a hole in the ceiling, then in three ceilings above that one, and finally emerged through the roof. He could still hear a raging and cursing Apollo down below him, so with every ounce of his strength, he slammed both fists against the roof of the building. At first, that didn't seem to have done anything worth mentioning, and Stalflare contemplated hitting it again, but then, the entire building began to tremble, and the warrior from Hyrule took off into the air, as it collapsed in on itself, floor by floor. The columns designed to hold it up were breaking under the damage done by Apollo, added to the power of Stalflare's attack. When the dust had finally cleared, there was nothing left of the building but a smoking pile of rubble, and when the smoke cleared too, the rubble had become a lava pit of a precisely square shape; embedded in what had previously been the building's foundation.

Stalflare could see the lava waving around, as though it was alive, and recognized that Apollo's aura had melted the building's construction materials all over his body, and worse yet, there was so much of it above him, that without vast, inhuman strength, he couldn't possibly emerge from it, and if he turned off his heat aura, it would only get worse, since the material would harden around him, trapping him in a grave of his own making.

"Maybe I can't kill you," Stalflare thought silently, as he landed near the lava pit, "or even injure you, but all I had to do was incapacitate you to win, and you should have been watching out for that."

Moments later, the two were back at the teleportation area, and Apollo was coughing up molten rock and steel onto the platform.

* * *

Just as Stalflare stepped off the platform, heading back to where his team was located, Apollo was back on his feet at once, and rushing at him with the words "I'll kill you!" on his lips.

However, Apollo's intentions were destined to never be fulfilled, because a mere moment later, he felt his strength leaving him, his powers draining away, and his immortality vanishing. Worse yet, his skull felt like it was lined with sandpaper. His lungs felt like he'd inhaled half a dozen switchblades, and his stomach felt like there was a team of elephants playing soccer in it. Every inch of his skin felt like it was being torn to pieces. Apollo felt weak and vulnerable; the same way that an ordinary human would feel when exposed to weapons-grade plutonium, except a hundred times worse, because he was someone who'd hardly ever felt physical pain before.

Apollo keeled over on the platform; his aura gone, his anger redirected, and his burning rage focused on his new, horrible weakness, and then he heard the voice of the master of the conflict, speaking directly to him.

"Apollo of Olympus, you've fought your fight poorly, but you've survived unharmed. Whether you win or lose, you'll abide by the terms of this conflict. No violence is permitted in my teleport areas. Is that clear?"

Apollo cursed again, but it was obvious that he had no choice but to obey that strange being, and as soon as he realized that, and accepted it, he felt the pain leave his body, and all of his powers returning. With very little dignity, the mighty Apollo raised himself to his feet; a god again, but a humbled one, before a power from which even the mighty titans would have retreated. He scrambled awkwardly back to his team a moment later, where he received a look of concern from the one with the brown beard, but one of pity from most of them. However, he got a look of pure shamefulness from the red-bearded one, who was obviously disappointed in the sun god for attempting to break the rules of the conflict at all.

* * *

"Where's Byrna?" Stalflare hissed angrily, as he rejoined his team, "I can't fight another like that!"

"I couldn't tell you." Zelda replied sadly, "She was in the lab when we left, but we're too far away to locate her now."

"Then perhaps you should go next," Stalflare muttered, "if you think you'll be able to match these demons."

Zelda was silent for a few seconds before raising her head and speaking aloud, but when she did finally speak, she looked just as determined as ever.

"I don't know if I can win, but I'm back to my full power. As long as I don't try to read their minds again, I should be able to fight them physically, but..."

Zelda paused again at that point, however, clearly trying to think about her situation a bit more deeply before she continued.

"Stalflare. I only hope I'm as lucky as you were in finding a way to defeat them without having to kill."

Then, Zelda stepped up to the platform, and opposite her was the enormous woman. Strangely, she was the only one who seemed to be unafraid of the others, but more suspicious of them than anything, like a person who expects someone to steal their treasure. However, she saw Zelda as nothing more than another life-form, and so, the expression she cast upon Zelda didn't have the slightest trace of suspicion. In fact, it was an expression of almost motherly love and caring.

"I'm Zelda; Princess of Hyrule." Zelda announced to her adversary, trying to look as dignified as possible, next to the large, mighty figure she was facing.

"I am Gaia; titan of the Earth." the woman replied.

For some reason, Zelda felt as if she shouldn't try to smile when she was just about to fight that person, but Gaia seemed to radiate such a perfect feeling of life and generosity, that she couldn't help but feel happier when she looked into the large woman's face. Gaia was clearly a person who wasn't used to battle, and that, of course, gave her a certain level of self-control.

In just a moment, the two stepped into their teleporters and vanished.

* * *

Hyrule Castle Town grew many of the vegetables that Mark had delivered in the gardens outside the Castle, so it wasn't a spot for delivery, but nevertheless, it was customary for the deliveryman to return there for a couple of days after he finished making the rounds, or for longer if he lived there.

Mark was something of a popular attraction at the town that day, when he arrived after his trip across Hyrule. He spent most of his time there sitting by the fountain in its center, and telling stories of his world as people approached, listened for a while, then left.

It had only been three hours since his arrival, however, when a hylian guard approached Mark and addressed him, saying, "Are you Mark; the human?"

He looked up at the guard, a little worried at first, though he eventually replied "Yes."

"The king has invited you to the castle for tonight and tomorrow. He wants to speak with you about matters that he says concern the wellbeing of his people."

Mark was a little worried by that at first, but after getting to his feet, he turned to Ramie and asked "Is that good?"

"Probably." Ramie replied, though she shrugged to indicate that she wasn't really sure, "It's rarely bad news when the king wants to talk to you."

When Mark heard that, it definitely made him feel better, and he felt almost like cheering for joy. Matters concerning the wellbeing of Hyrule's people? What could the king want his advise on? Whatever it was, Mark was very pleased to have gotten that chance so quickly. He couldn't wait to teach their king what he needed to know to improve his life and kingdom.

* * *

That afternoon, Mark met the king in Hyrule Castle's dinner hall, and they had the chance to talk over lunch. The king seemed to know a surprising amount about Mark and his people already, and asked almost solely for clarification on some points that he found unusual. He asked, for example, what would happen if a person couldn't afford to feed and house themselves, so Mark revealed the nature of starvation, and the existence of people who lived on the streets of cities, foraging for food in the garbage. He described those who were forced into starvation by governments that wanted to keep their people subdued, and the king was absolutely shocked to hear that over two thirds of the world was poor to the point of starving.

"We have enough food in the storehouses of my country alone to solve the problem," Mark explained, "but transporting it to all the people who need it costs too much, and people just aren't willing to pay. Besides, it wouldn't be able to reach some of them anyway. We have charities overseas that try to help those people with food and training, but it's not fast work, especially since many governments fight our charities tooth and nail."

After that, the King spoke up again, saying "You're saying that in your world, every person seems to look out for themselves. Wouldn't starving people do their best to get food on their own?"

"Yes." Mark replied slowly, "But humans own virtually the entire world, so you can't just grab food off a tree. Taking food without paying for it in my world is called stealing."

At that point, however, the King asked, "What about those who choose not to respect your laws of property?"

"They start stealing and become criminals." Mark admitted, "Sometimes that winds up directing the course of their entire lives."

"Criminals?" The king asked, looking stunned for a moment, "They're branded criminals because they'd rather steal than starve?"

At first, Mark was about to make some attempt at responding to that, but just then, he started to realize the truth, and all at once, everything became clear to him; the nature of most common crime, and how the structure of the criminal underworld grew from that. Suddenly, he realized how the human race persecuted and preyed on those people, until they had no choice but to break the rules of mankind or die, and then, they were labeled crooks. At that point, many of them just gave up trying to do the right thing, and accepted the title of a criminal, and everything else that went with it. After all, if that was what people thought of them, then what was the point of trying to do the right thing anymore? By mere, atheistic, secular, human logic, there was no point in helping others, or doing the right thing, or making other people's lives easier. Without a higher calling of some sort, man had no good reason to do anything but evil.

It soon became apparent that the king was a very intelligent and eloquent person, and the longer he talked with Mark, the more Mark began to recognize things about himself and his people that were unfinished. Many of mankind's projects and attempts were flawed from conception; plots and attacks against one another that he'd never seen in quite that way. He and the king talked off and on for most of the rest of that day, taking breaks between discussions when they felt as if they weren't really getting anywhere. They'd had seven separate discussions on different subjects by the time the sun set, and before long, it was time for bed, and Mark and Ramie received rooms in the far eastern castle turret, where the soft bedding brought sleep to each of them quickly, as if by magic.

* * *

Zelda had watched Link and Stalflare's fights very carefully, and she knew that both of their enemies had been protected by a very powerful spell of immortality. For the moment, she was going to suppose that the same was true of Gaia, and draw her plans accordingly.

Because of that, the very moment that Zelda re-appeared in her new surroundings, she flung some white dust at the ground, and vanished into the shadows nearby, as it kicked up a smokescreen. It was only then that she felt at liberty to examine her surroundings.

Zelda was in a castle courtyard of sorts, with stone chambers off to the left, a closed and locked gate to the right, and creeper vines lining the walls both in front of and behind her.

"Varying terrain." Zelda observed silently, "That means I have a lot of options if something goes wrong."

However, as she looked around, Zelda smelled the scent of springtime lilies nearby, and knew that something had already gone wrong. Maybe her enemy was near, or maybe she was using a strange power of some kind, but in any case, it would have been best if she could just slip away through the shadows and watch for her enemy's next move. Zelda couldn't use the shadows to disappear completely, however, so instead, she did her best to hide using another common shiekah technique.

Among the shiekah, the skill of how to climb stone walls in silence was a valued and common one. Ropes could often be seen very easily by guards on duty, which was why the shiekah used a combination of wires attached to their wrists, which they protected with stiff armored gauntlets underneath, and spiked knives which could hold over a thousand pounds of weight without bending or breaking. Using those tools, a skilled shiekah could scale most sheer surfaces with little difficulty, and without being noticed.

Zelda climbed carefully along the stone wall to the right, scampering around the frame of the doorway, through the shadows. She could see Gaia in the center of the courtyard from there, and had an unreasoning urge to giggle at the sight, but stifled it. Gaia was surrounded by what looked like a bed of writhing flowers, and as Zelda watched, the big woman began to yell into the shadows.

* * *

"Where are you? Why not come out and get this over with?"

"I have my own way of fighting people who can never die, thank you." replied Zelda's voice from the shadows all around Gaia.

Suddenly, a dart came flying out of the shadows nearby, and Gaia made a swift motion with her hand, causing the plants around her to rise up, and not only strike away the dart, but cover the wall that it had come from completely.

"Hey!" Gaia yelled, sounding very confused, for some reason, "Did I get you?"

Her only response was a chuckle from the shadows, as a wire shot out and wrapped itself around one of her legs, tripping her up. She fell to the ground with a crash, but seemed to register no pain, and almost at once, a series of vines emerged from the ground, and lifted her to her feet much faster than even Zelda could have risen if she'd been the one knocked down. At that very same moment, vines sprung up from every corner of the courtyard, and reached up to the very top of the surrounding walls on every side.

"That must have got her" Gaia reasoned aloud.

However, less than a second after those words had escaped her lips, a dark shape interrupted the light of the moon, and there was a blinding flash from the ground at the titan's feet. Gaia stumbled back quickly, rubbing her eyes, as she felt strong, female legs lash out at her face and chest, propelling her backwards, but she couldn't see enough to block the attacks. Soon, she stumbled back over a few small steps, and slid down nine more short stairs into a hallway, where she got to her feet almost at once, clearly wondering where her mysterious attacker had run off to.

Zelda was clearly still nearby, however, because moments later, Gaia heard the words "You're being foolish." come from the shadows.

"What?" Gaia yelled, suddenly looking much more upset, "What are you talking about?"

"I can tell you're an ancient, immortal being," Zelda replied from seemingly all around her, "and I'd expected you to be an intelligent fighter as well. That was my mistake, though. You don't put much stock in warfare or battle, or you'd have been fighting me more carefully."

Gaia clenched her fists tightly, as she looked around through the darkness for any sign of her foe a moment later.

"You fight like a little child," Zelda continued, though for some reason, the words didn't sound as if they were intended to be insulting, "using every power at your disposal all at once, before you're sure it will do you any good. Because of that, I'm now aware of quite a few of your powers. You manifest plants of any sort inside dirt or earth, and control their motions and growth, which you speed up immensely with your magic. Added to your immortality, that makes you very dangerous."

"Yes." Gaia replied quickly, "I'm definitely too much for a mere mortal."

"We'll see." Zelda just remarked, then fell silent again.

Shortly after that, there was another flash from below, but that time, Gaia reacted quickly, covering her eyes before the flash could blind her, and delivering a backhand to her left. She could feel someone's feet make contact with her hand, and heard the sound of someone falling to the floor. Swiftly, she summoned vines to grow up through the floor, and although she didn't catch Zelda with them, she knew that she'd come close. Gaia could see that two of her vines had been sliced apart by a sharp object, and lay writhing on the floor. She stepped back a few feet when she saw that, and as she did, she could hear the sound of footfalls nearby. Her powerful legs working with all their superhuman speed, Gaia dashed in the direction of the footfalls, but she couldn't see where she was going, and after running nonstop for close to seventy yards, she finally found herself at another stairway, which she tripped over, falling on her face on the steps.

At once, Gaia righted herself, and ascended the stairway, but there the footfalls stopped. As she continued onward through the darkness, she felt carefully around with her feet, and discovered that the marble floors of the hallway behind her had become rough stone crags in front of her. She carefully got her balance and looked around, causing plants to rise up around her again, but suddenly, a powerful kick from behind caused her to topple over a stone cliff beneath her, and into a pool of water below. During that last exchange, Gaia had finally caught Zelda, who'd had to pass her foot through the plants to kick her. Zelda was tied up in the plants almost at once, and sent toppling into the water after the titan, where, ironically, she collided sharply with Gaia's chest, knocking the air out of both of them. In mere moments, they must have both realized, one of them would start to drown, and that would decide who won the fight...

* * *

Shortly, Zelda began to cough up water, and activated a fire spell, incinerating the plants that were still trying to crush her. Nearby, Gaia was coughing and sputtering as well, her robes absolutely soaked. Zelda's uniform had been mostly fried by the heat of her flames, but she recognized at once that they were back in the teleport area, and her concern began to mount, as she turned to face Link again.

"Link." Zelda asked in fear, "Did I win?"

Link, however, only looked the princess of Hyrule in the eyes for a few moments, before he turned away, and said "I'm sorry."

Zelda knew that Link didn't blame her. Fighting an immortal, after all, was hard; almost impossible, and she'd brought it down to the wire anyway. Still, at least she had her dignity.

In a moment, Zelda had turned to Gaia and helped her up, but although she'd lost, the princess found that she wasn't really thinking about her defeat very much. In just a moment, she asked her recent enemy a question, feeling more confused than bitter.

"Why are they your teammates? I know you're a good person at heart. Why did you lend your power to their cause?"

"None of them are really my teammates." Gaia admitted after a few seconds, looking a bit surprised by Zelda's reaction to her recent defeat, "We're only working together now, because our survival depends on it, but on our home-world, I belong to a different clan than the others."

Zelda didn't understand the meaning of Gaia's words, exactly, but she didn't ask any more about it. Slowly, she turned around, and walked back to be with her team, as Gaia did the same, but with an air of worry around her, as though she was expecting someone to attack her for making it such a close fight.

* * *

Link and his team were just trying to decide who'd fight next, when Byrna finally showed up. She was late, but not too late, and she was dressed in the same armor as always, with only one exception. Her arms sported new, cylindrical devices, however, which were about a foot long, and three inches in diameter.

"I'm here!" Byrna exclaimed, clearly out of breath, but eager to begin, "Me next."

"Yes." Stalflare replied somewhat darkly, "You next."

* * *

Byrna looked at the others for a moment, many of whom were upset with her tardiness, but she knew that she'd needed the extra time to perfect her device. The machines on her wrists were an incredible accomplishment, even for someone of her genius and intuition, and she hoped that with their powers, she'd be able to meet a force of nature like her last opponent on relatively even terms.

Quickly, Byrna stepped up to the platform, and was met there by the woman in the helmet.

"I'm Byrna." the hylian fighter announced.

"I am Athena; goddess of wisdom." the woman in the helmet announced, "I'm sorry that this battle couldn't be prevented. I never enjoy engaging in war."

Byrna had expected to be fighting some fearsome villain for some reason, or a horrifying foe, who attacked with all their soul, like her last enemy. Finding herself faced with a civilized person among all those warriors was, to her, quite a large surprise.

Nevertheless, though, the fight was destined to happen. The two stepped into their teleportation platforms after only a moment, and disappeared.

* * *

Mark was woken up on his first morning in the castle by the sound of a rooster crowing, and a beam of light shining in through the window of his room. In almost no time after that, he was summoned to have breakfast with the king. Discussion at the breakfast table was kept to a minimum, though the king expressed a desire to speak a bit more with Mark after breakfast was finished, and of course, being the king, he got that chance. Before too long, the two were left alone in a conference room, with a series of fifteen chairs around a long table. The king and Mark spoke for a while about fairly trivial human practices, before the ruler of Hyrule started to show an interest in larger issues, like the economy.

"Well, your majesty..." Mark began, but the king stopped him immediately by raising one hand.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" the king asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Oh." Mark muttered, realizing at once that on that world, the customs were probably different from the middle ages of his own planet, "I'm sorry. That's how we address royalty on Earth."

"Well, in Hyrule," the king explained quickly, smiling again, "people refer to me as King Hyrule, and I'd much prefer if you would as well."

Mark knew that he'd just made a mistake, and wouldn't be looked down upon for what he'd already said, much less punished, but he decided to do what the king had suggested, and just not bring it up anymore after that.

"All right, King Hyrule. You see, on Earth, everything depends on money; food, clothes, shelter, water, electricity, gas, and everything else people depend on for their livelihoods have to be bought. If a person is very rich, they can even hire someone to help them take care of their house or family, or employ a group of people that can work and make money for them, though people in that group don't make as much for themselves."

"Wouldn't a system like that be rather poor for the people being employed?"

"Well, they don't have a choice. You see, everyone needs money, and the only way to get it is to find a job as someone's employee. They could start their own business, of course, but they wouldn't have much money to advertise with, so they wouldn't get much business, and by the time people started to hear about them, some large company would have used its money and influence to drive them out of business, or buy their company out."

"Are you saying that it's impossible to become an independent success in your world?"

"Sort of. Some people manage to be really successful on their own, but most of them are just the kind of folks who are good at tricking people into giving them a wonderful deal, or successors to a former corporate CEO."

"So money is vital to obtain, and yet, almost impossible to get enough of."

"Most people work their entire lives just to make ends meet."

"Your people must be very thrifty."

"Well, no. Not really. In fact, the vast majority of people who walk into a store do so without any idea what they're going to buy. They do exactly what the corporations want them to by walking around and hoping something catches their notice. That way, the chances increase of them buying something they don't really need."

The king was silent for a moment, as he processed that idea, then finally, he replied, "You've said that the wealthy determine who'll succeed them, how your legal system is run, and who'll become sports stars in your world. That means they determine who you're inspired by. Who's responsible for establishing your government?"

"Our government system is run by something called a democracy. There are two parties; democrats and republicans. They tend to have differing views on certain issues and such, but both do a lot of blundering. Each party brings forth one person who they want to see become president, and the people vote on it."

"How do people know who to vote for?"

"Each candidate broadcasts messages to the public that slander their opponent. In the old days, they broadcast what they stood for, but these days, politicians don't really stand for anything."

"It must cost a lot of money to make those broadcasts. Do they get it from their 'parties?'"

"Not most of the time." Mark recalled aloud, "Usually, politicians are subsidized in their campaigns by corporations who agree with their views, so the one who agrees with the wealthiest corporations usually has the loudest public voice during the campaigns."

"What you're saying is that it's corporations who really decide who gets elected."

Mark froze when the king said that. For some reason, he'd never quite connected the dots in that way before. That was one conclusion that had always escaped his notice.

"What if a voter doesn't agree with either politician?" the king asked, clearly noticing how surprised Mark was.

"There are two options, really. You can either not vote at all, or throw your vote away by voting for a candidate represented by what we like to call 'the third party,' but the way the system is set up, every person in the nation would have to be voting for that person, and they still might not win."

"So if both parties were working together, they could get anyone into office?"

"Well..." Mark thought about it for a moment, before coming to a horrifying realization, "Well, yes. I guess it could wind up working that way."

* * *

Once the teleportation finished, Byrna and Athena found themselves in a grand hall of some kind, with a long table in the center. Byrna raised her weapons quickly, but Athena merely sat down, almost as though she had no intention of fighting at all.

"So," Athena asked, from her place at that table, "why do you want to win this battle? What makes your world the best one to be defended?"

Byrna was surprised by that unusual tactic, but she responded to the question quickly, not sure whether to hope that she might be able to beat Athena without even fighting her.

"I don't know if my world is the best one or not. I don't really care either, because we were planning on saving all the other worlds as well."

"Why would you save our world when you could have anything you want?" Athena asked very calmly, though she didn't exactly look surprised by her enemy's answer.

"Because" Byrna insisted, "it's the right thing to do. That's all we really want, is to do the right thing, because I know that'll make me stronger if I do."

Athena looked almost surprised for a moment, but after a few seconds, her expression started turning sour.

"Who are you to decide the difference between right and wrong?"

"Well, sure." Byrna replied, "That's why we don't impose our will on other cultures by force. All we know is what works right for us. I'm fairly sure, though, that every world participating in this conflict wants to survive. Therefore, that must be right for everyone."

Athena persisted, however, looking more irritated than ever, "What if our worlds come into contact with one another? What if one of us has the power to destroy you all? Would that have been right for you?"

"You're asking me to make assumptions without any data." Byrna replied, feeling puzzled by Athena's logic, "That kind of thinking leads to all sorts of mistakes. I have no intention of doing that. I couldn't attack someone just because they might one day have the power to destroy me, because I'd only be striking in fear. When fear draws its sword, everyone's damaged, and if we let fear of one another govern our lives, none of us would be alive today. We'd all have killed each other off like a pack of wolves turning on each other. You see, fear's one of the most dangerous enemies of reason. It doesn't matter what you're doing; if you're only acting out of fear, you can't be doing the right thing, and..."

"Shut your mouth!" Athena roared, leaping over the table, and grabbing Byrna by the throat. Reacting swiftly, Byrna grabbed Athena's arms in her own iron grip, and slowly pried the woman's hands from her neck, hurling her backwards, and backing off herself. Byrna knew that she was best at fighting from a long distance away, so she had to get some distance between herself and her enemy.

Swiftly, Athena drew a spear from somewhere nearby, and jabbed forward with it, creating a beam of light, which Byrna was only barely able to dodge, as it blasted a gaping hole in the wall behind her. Swiftly, Byrna armed the devices on her wrists, and began firing concentrated bursts of glowing energy from them. They vaporized the entire table, several chairs, and a large section of the floor, revealing a wine cellar underneath, but for some reason, Athena herself was completely unharmed by them.

Athena dove forward again in the next moment, waving her spear like a mace, and was able to club Byrna in the side with it. Byrna felt her armor in that area denting, and a couple of her ribs broke, but she wasn't about to give up. A crystal dome slid over her head in another second, and she leapt over Athena with the air-launchers on her feet, then dove into the wine cellar. Athena followed quickly, wielding her spear even more carefully than before.

"I don't get it." Byrna thought to herself as she fled from her enemy, "If she's so smart, why's she following me in here?"

Indeed, the question was an apt one. Athena's vast knowledge and experience would normally have alerted her to the danger, but for some reason, her great wisdom was refusing to aid her in that fight. She was struggling with it for dominance, but a part of her was still holding back.

Almost as soon as Athena had landed in the cellar, she was hit with a flying wine cask, and knocked against a nearby wall, shattering the cask, and parts of the wall, even though it did no damage to Athena herself. Two more seemed to be headed in her direction, but she shattered them both with her spear in a single motion, spilling wine all over the floor of the room, until both she and her enemy were ankle-deep in it.

The fight began again at once, with Byrna still wearing her dome-like helmet. She charged in, dodging the blows of the spear, though one such blow dented part of the armor on her right arm. Eventually, she was able to deliver three solid blows to Athena's stomach, but none seemed to do any real damage, except for making her leap back to catch her breath. No matter what Byrna did, Athena just didn't seem to feel it.

* * *

By that point in the battle, the boundless wisdom on which Athena usually relied, both as a warrior and as arbiter and judge to her people seemed to be coming only in short bursts, for some reason, despite her best attempts to make it work again. The voice of great wisdom, which almost always resounded in her mind, was becoming unclear and distorted.

"...away...out...back...out...the...now...you...the...of...wine...make...as...as..."

Athena couldn't make sense of it, and that had hardly ever happened to her before. She struggled to think of a time when she'd faced that kind of problem in the past, but her mind was losing its focus even as she did. She began to see the world spinning around her, and before she knew what was happening, Athena was face down in the wine, and the two were back at the teleport area in no time.

* * *

Zelda was very puzzled, as she watched Athena being dragged from the teleport platform by her allies. Obviously, something had knocked her out, but she had no idea what it could have been, or why someone calling herself the goddess of wisdom hadn't seen it coming, whatever it was.

"I don't get it." Zelda remarked to Byrna, as the armored warrior returned to the rest of her team, "What happened to her?"

"It would have happened to me too, if not for my helmet." Byrna explained, "The wine fumes caused her to start losing her focus until she passed out. I'm still confused about one thing, though. When we first introduced ourselves, she called herself a goddess of wisdom, but while we were fighting, she didn't exactly seem wise, and she wound up being pretty easy to trick. It's almost like her wisdom just didn't want to help her out, for some reason."

However, as Byrna said that, something occurred to Link, which he hadn't considered when he'd first watched the two of them fighting.

"At the beginning, I think her wisdom did try to help her." Link muttered.

"What?" Byrna asked, starting to notice that Link had a theory of his own about Athena.

"Wisdom isn't like knowledge, precognition, or any other simple 'power' to use." Link explained slowly, "It's the ability to tell the difference between right and wrong. A goddess of wisdom would naturally have an almost unerring ability to do that, and I think it got in her way during your fight. She searched her vast stores of wisdom for a way to beat you, but the only answer she could find was 'Byrna's good. Don't hurt her. That would be wrong.'"

"Wow." Byrna whispered in awe and surprise, as she looked across the teleport area at the passed-out goddess.

"It's kind of a shame," Byrna eventually said aloud, "I think she may turn out to have been our easiest enemy this time."

"At any rate, someone else will have to go next," Darunia interrupted, "so it might as well be me."

Without waiting for a response from his team, Darunia stepped forward, and was met on the platform by the red-haired, armored warrior, only a moment later. It didn't take the goron boss long to introduce himself, but it took him even less time to notice how different the red-haired man was from the rest of his team; more in demeanor than appearance.

"I'm Darunia; boss of the gorons." Darunia announced, though he was already feeling worried.

"I am mighty Thor; aesir god of thunder." the warrior replied, frowning just slightly as he spoke, "Between you and me, I find this entire conflict distasteful, so I think we should finish this quickly."

"We have that much in common." Darunia replied, however. Thor's words had brought a smile to his face for the first time since he'd re-entered the conflict location, because for some reason, Thor actually seemed like he might be a fairly decent person.

Deciding to pause their discussion on that reasonably-pleasant note, the two stepped into the teleportation platforms and disappeared again.

* * *

Mark sat on the bed in his room for what felt like forever, but was probably more like fifteen minutes. After their last talk, the king had told him that he had some thinking to do, and then he'd speak with him again about the issue that Mark had really been summoned for.

After the seventeenth minute had passed, however, a young man knocked on the door to Mark's room, and Mark invited him to come in after only a couple of seconds.

"The king would like to see you in his personal chambers now." the young man; who was dressed in a messenger's uniform said, almost the very moment that the door was open, "He needs to talk with you in private."

Mark had never been invited to the king's personal chambers before, so the young messenger had to show him the way, then left him outside the king's door alone; obviously with the intention of getting out of his way. After all, if the king wanted to talk with Mark privately, then no one in that castle was going to argue with him, and certainly not a messenger. That made Mark feel a little intimidated at first, but in the end, he gathered up his courage, and knocked on the door just a moment later. At that point, he heard the word "enter" being spoken patiently from within the room, and as intimidated as he was feeling by that point, he knew that he had to go through with that one last discussion.

Swiftly, Mark opened the door to the king's room, and stepped inside, where the king was seated near the window at the far side of his room, writing at a desk by himself. Bookshelves and other pieces of furniture seemed to almost conceal the walls of that private chamber, so it looked more like a study room, or a library than a private chamber of any kind. However, for some reason, that only made Mark feel more comfortable with speaking to the king of Hyrule a moment later.

"You wanted to see me, King Hyrule?"

"I certainly did. Please have a seat, Mark."

As the king said that, he gestured to a nearby chair with one of his hands, and Mark sat down in it, just a couple yards away from the desk where the king was seated. For some reason, Mark felt as if the situation was growing less and less comfortable, and he couldn't explain why. It was almost like being sent to the principal's office.

However, as Mark sat down, he noticed that the King was staring him right in the eyes, with an expression of deep regret all over his face. For a few moments, neither dared to say a thing, but at last, it was the king who spoke first.

"You were surprised by how many of your stories I already knew when you arrived here." the king observed with a rueful smile.

Mark just nodded, not sure whether it was alright to reply to that or not, but the King continued a moment later.

"Well, the truth is that my subjects from all over the kingdom have been sending me messages, explaining you and your tales for the past couple weeks. I've even gotten messages from the shiekah, gerudo and zora, who don't normally send me letters directly."

By that point, Mark felt as though he was either about to be subjected to some demand, or some tremendous reward, but still, the king continued to speak.

"It's a fantastic story. I've never quite heard anything like it, but if I combine the letters I've been receiving with what you've told me yourself, I think I've gotten a fairly complete picture."

Mark felt like beaming over what the king was saying to him, but something was wrong, because King Hyrule wasn't smiling. After a few moments, the monarch leaned back in his seat, and sighed, as though consumed by terrible guilt.

"In the past few minutes, I've had a very difficult choice to make. I don't think I've had to make this choice before for anyone, but just in case you think it's unduly harsh, let me share some of the observations I've made, based on all the data you've given me."

Worry was growing in his heart again, but regardless, Mark continued to listen, as the King retrieved a list of notes from the desk behind him, and began to read through them, one by one.

"You've told us stories about your people, from a distant town called New York, in a distant land called America, on a distant world called Earth. Your people attack their environment and the education of their young alike, proving that concern for the future of their species has no bearing on their actions. You're a fearful, distrustful people, almost petrified of the very idea that someone might be able to overcome you, yet, you're unable to realize when someone already has. You have no honor or glory in your wars. They produce no heroes or legends which are worth speaking about, and yet, you engage in them readily, even when there's no concrete reason to. You have no respect for honor, little love for the other members of your species, or it seems, for anything at all, including your own wellbeing. You gleefully march into courses of action that are self-destructive to your family line, and you slay one another, citing mere possessions as an excuse. You allow your natural talents and creativities to atrophy, and allow any concept of art or culture to slide from your grasp without even the slightest attempt at a struggle. You subject yourselves to petty addictions and collect useless trinkets, then try to fool yourselves into thinking you're having fun. You're vulnerable to more diseases than we are, have a less cooperative body shape, and starve or die of thirst much easier. You cannot go as long as we can without sleep, and you generate almost no magical aura, as it's defined in Hyrule. On your world, magic is a co-dependence with a supernatural being, which often has your worst intentions at heart. You're a petty people; obsessed enough with appearances to make kings out of paupers, just because they look good. Your entire society seems to be founded on a predator-prey relationship with your human brothers and sisters, in a constant struggle for money, which determines your very survival. Money is awarded, not for intelligence, strength, bravery, valor, virtue, or hard work, but for skill in manipulation, trickery, deceit, and oftentimes, for sheer luck, or merely possessing a pleasing appearance. The rest of your society; your governments, legal systems and public messages are all controlled by the wealthiest, and therefore, the most devilish tricksters. In spite of all that, you take pride in ignoring those problems, and what have you accomplished in exchange for all those sins? You've consumed hundreds of species from the world around you, devastated entire natural wonders, swept over lands to which you had no claim, and even spread your corrupt presence into the stars themselves."

"But you don't understand!" Mark exclaimed, feeling intensely exasperated by that point, mostly because he couldn't really argue with any of what the king had just said, "The whole purpose of it all is to bring to life..."

"To bring to life a single good character trait; which as your species continues to live, is being stomped into the ground." the King finished the sentence for him, looking almost totally emotionless as he recited all of that, "The beautiful dream. Like hylians, your people dream of better things. Both of our species have dreamed of a place named 'heaven,' where the good are rewarded with a better, more fulfilling life. In addition to that, you've dreamed up many wonderful stories of worlds far better than your own, and people far better than yourselves. The children are, at this moment, out in the courtyard, repeating to one another your stories about a 'man of steel.' It's that one ability; the power to dream of something more than you already have, which could one day redeem your species, if only the shroud of apathy could pass from your eyes, and you could to take action to realize your true potential."

"But we have so many fantastic things on my world!" Mark exclaimed desperately, "I mean, it's incredible what we've accomplished, after so many centuries, isn't it?"

The king's only reply to that question, however, was silence. It seemed as if he'd finally decided that the time had come to break some bad news to Mark, because his expression was far from a happy one.

"Mark." the king eventually said, his short, white beard seeming to shift as he frowned more deeply, "Most of my subjects who've heard your stories don't believe them. They think that you've lied to them."

"No way!" Mark exclaimed in even greater exasperation, "Why would I lie about something like that?"

"I know." the King continued with a wave of one hand, signaling for silence again, "I believe your stories are true, and I'm sorry to say that believing you has made me feel a great deal worse."

Mark could barely understand what the king was trying to say, but after a moment, the monarch continued.

"Mark, since you first arrived here, did you ever stop to think that our way of life might be the best one for us? Did you stop to consider that the sins that compound themselves on your world don't exist here? Did you think that we might actually like it that way?"

At once, Mark felt a pang of guilt begin to crawl across his mind, but in spite of that, he answered the king's question honestly.

"I saw your small houses, and compared them to the towering, skyscraper workplaces and apartments of my world. I compared your books to my movies; your toy balls to our action figures; your simple system to our complex one."

"And you thought that yours must be better because of that?"

Mark fell silent the moment that question was asked. He didn't know what to say.

"Mark, when you started telling your stories, people asked to hear them. They were curious about who you were, and where you'd come from. More recently, however, fewer and fewer people have been asking, and you've volunteered to tell those tales more and more often. Is that correct?"

Mark remained silent again, because again, he wasn't sure how to answer. He knew that he'd been talking about his world for quite a while, but he honestly hadn't been keeping track of whether people had asked him to or not, so the King continued after another moment of silence.

"They asked you about your world out of curiosity, which was one of the reasons I asked you to visit the castle as well, but now that the surprise and novelty have worn off, they're beginning to realize how morbid the majority of your tales are."

"Morbid?" Mark asked, feeling both confused and a bit insulted, "Are you trying to tell me that these people see the stories of my home-world as some kind of disgusting horror tale?"

"Yes." the King replied very sincerely, "They do now, and it's for that reason that I feel I should ask you to never volunteer to tell your stories again. I won't try to make it a command, but I urgently request it of you."

"Why?" Mark asked, feeling tired and alone all at once.

"Because for a hundred generations, my people have worked to build a life for their children and grandchildren, which they could be proud of. Depressing them with tales of what might have happened if they hadn't done so will only hurt their morale and vex them. I believe that my people deserve the chance to be happy. Don't you?"

"Yes." Mark muttered after a moment, feeling stunned, "But why can't... I mean... Surely, you yourself... I don't..."

Mark had begun to stutter and lose track of the points that he'd trying to make. He knew all at once that the king had said what needed to be said already, though, so he stood up after only a few more moments of silence, and replied to King Hyrule sadly.

"I'm sorry if I've offended anyone, King Hyrule. I promise; I'll follow your advice."

Then, Mark left that room, and ran back to his own place to pack, his eyes overflowing with of a cascade of tears, over what he'd just been told.

* * *

Once again, Darunia found himself fighting on a mountaintop, but that mountain had no snow on its peak. Instead, it was entirely covered in green grass, and beautiful trees. The goron boss took a moment to consider his situation as his opponent began warming up and stretching his large, impressive-looking muscles.

"Let's make a deal." Darunia said at last.

"What sort of deal?" Thor asked him, looking a bit curious, in spite of his displeased frown.

"Since I can't kill you, I want you to agree that this battle won't be to the death."

Thor seemed to think about that for a moment, but it didn't take him long before he was ready to reply to his opponent's offer.

"This fight isn't one that either of us chose. I see no reason to kill you. If, in the heat of battle, I happen to slay you, then that will be that, but if you lapse into unconsciousness at my feet, I won't feel the need to deliver the killing blow."

For a moment, Darunia just fell silent in surprise, but at last, he spoke up again, still not really satisfied over leaving the discussion that way.

"Considering that you're ten times more of a warrior than any of your friends, I didn't expect you to accept my offer."

"They're not my friends." Thor explained a moment later, "Before this conflict started, we were enemies. Many nations of immortals and gods like us existed. The sons of Manitou, the pantheon of Svarog, the forces and armies backing such immortal beings as Nuada, Tezcatlipoca and Itzamna, the lords of the deserts of Ra, the vanir and the olympians. Apollo, Artemis and Athena were all olympians. Gaia was a titan; a race of beings said to predate all our nations of immortals, if you choose to believe in such things. I'm a member of the aesir; the lords of Asgard. We dwell in a realm across the rainbow bridge from Midgard, where we once ruled. However, our peoples have hardly ever worked together. Truthfully, we've been almost constantly at war with one another since the day that Zeus cast his father Cronos into Tartarus, in the heart of Erebus; the underworld."

"In other words, you were at war with the others, but when this threat appeared, you knew you had to put aside your differences and work together." Darunia guessed, but as it turned out, he was only partly right.

"For the time being." Thor replied, "We're still enemies, of course, and the olympians wanted to represent us all at first, but we knew that they just wanted the wish for themselves; to destroy the rest of us. That's why Gaia and I came along."

"You did it out of fear?" Darunia asked, feeling stunned, "You were just afraid of them? It wasn't for some greater good?"

"The greater good is preventing the olympians from destroying the rest of us." Thor replied, looking a bit aggravated by his enemy's reaction, "In battle, my people fear no enemy, but we are afraid of the destruction of our race, and we know that the olympians are afraid, not only of us, but of one another as well. They live their lives by lies and betrayal. Among my people, a person's crimes and slanders would have to be great indeed for them to be struck down by their fellow immortals. The olympians, however, live in constant fear that one of their own may usurp their position, or strike them down for a perceived misdeed. I and my family live our lives differently."

"I don't understand how an entire race of people could live their lives through fear." Darunia just remarked, scratching his head in confusion, and causing Thor to chuckle in response.

"I like you." Thor said, smiling by that point, "if our situations were any different, I'd buy you a drink and we wouldn't fight, but alas, we must."

As he said that, Thor lifted his hammer, and Darunia hefted his two hammers into the air as well, as they both prepared for battle.

Thor rushed forward in a moment, swinging his weapon in a skilled fashion, which might have taken off the head of a lesser foe, but Darunia curled up, effectively ducking under the blow, and vaulted a large amount of dirt into Thor's face with one hammer, as he rose again. Thor swung blindly forward for a moment, as he struggled to remove the dirt from his eyes, then felt the two megaton hammers collide with the sides of his head. A normal enemy's head would have been squashed like a grape by that attack alone.

However, Thor was no mortal enemy to be squashed. He was the god of thunder, and it seemed as if Darunia's attack had not only been useless, but had actually made Thor more eager for combat with his large, stony enemy.

"You're swift at dodging blows, and clever in battle." Thor remarked as the last of the dirt fell from his eyes, "That was a trickster's blow worthy of my half brother Loki, but the mighty Thor will rise to the challenge, regardless."

As he said that, Thor swung his hammer through the air, and shouted what sounded like an incantation into the sky. Almost the very moment that he finished, dark clouds gathered above them, and the rain came down. Thunder and lightning also crashed and flashed through the sky at that moment, and Darunia soon found himself not only dodging bolts of lightning, as he had before, in another of his fights, but he had to continue dodging his enemy as well, and that certainly wasn't made any easier by the fact that the ground was growing muddier with every moment that the rain continued; making it more and more difficult to roll from place to place. At last, however, Darunia knew that he had no choice but to use his greatest powers against his enemy as well.

Moving as fast as he could, Darunia delivered a double-fisted blow to the chin of Thor, as he uncurled and began to sink into the mud. Thor was knocked backwards by the attack, but didn't really seem to have been hurt by it all that much, otherwise.

"A blow that any other stone giant would envy." Thor remarked in wonder, as he got back to his feet quickly, "But the fury of the storm is mine. How long can you continue to deliver such blows while dodging my own?"

Indeed, the answer seemed to be a very short time, because Darunia's feet sank further and further into the mud as the rain rolled off his face and limbs. Worse yet, Thor seemed to be quite accustomed to maneuvering in muddy areas. Darunia knew that he was at an extreme disadvantage on that muddy hillside, and he realized that he only had one option left. At last, the goron fighter began to focus. He'd learned one new trick during his training with Ruto. Most of it had been about focusing on an objective, and how to solve his problems through clever planning, but in the process, he'd grown much stronger and tougher as well, and had picked up one technique that he knew he needed to use against his newest enemy.

In mere moments, Darunia had focused on one desire, and was ready to struggle towards its fulfillment. That was all that was needed in order for him to use his new technique. He felt the limited energy around his body changing shape; forming itself into a reactive ability; which drew out intense heat from within him. At last, Darunia dealt out a fearsome punch toward the ground beneath his own feet, just as Thor charged him again, and an amazing thing occurred.

The moment that Darunia threw his punch, the air around his fist began to change. The change took only a fraction of a second, as around his fist, the air heated up, until there seemed to be a blazing inferno surrounding his hand. Darunia winced from the heat, so intense that it dried the mud at his feet even before making contact with it, but as difficult and painful as the technique was, it had to be used. In less than two seconds, all the mud for three yards around Darunia had been dried up by the heat of his punch, and Thor, not having expected an attack like that, tripped on the freshly-dried earth, and stumbled backwards, beginning to slide down the mountain. Before he could correct that, Darunia was on top of him, and pressing his face hard into the mud. For a moment, Darunia felt Thor's breathing start to shorten, then labor, then, his very heartbeat seemed to slow down.

However, that was when Thor's steel-like muscles tensed up, seeming to grow even stronger than before, and with a mighty backward swing, he shattered open a large section of Darunia's stomach, knocking him clear across the mountain; a distance of over a mile.

Darunia landed hard on the mountain stones, and almost at once, he felt the hand of the thunder god on one of his arms. A hundred thoughts raced through the goron's brain, threatening to drag him back into his old complaints over how unfair the situation was, to the point of making him obstinate about the task at hand. However, he had new things to worry about, and he knew that he couldn't afford to complain anymore. Darunia was injured, he could hardly move, and his strength was leaving him, but that, he slowly realized, wasn't any kind of reason for giving up.

"Excuses! Excuses!" the goron boss heard the voice of Ruto echo through his head, just as she had before, both before and during their training, "Sometimes, life isn't fair, and sometimes it isn't easy, but you have to be big enough to force it back into place when things don't go your way! You can't just roll over and die!"

"I can't just give up..." Darunia thought, and as soon as he started thinking that way, he felt his will supplement what little was left of his physical strength, and Thor dropped him like a hot potato, because indeed, Darunia's hands had once again begun to radiate a terrifying heat; more than ever before.

Lightning struck around Darunia, though it seemed to bend around him as it got close, and Thor's eyes widened as he realized what was going on. That stone giant was on the verge of becoming something else; of summoning magic not of his class. The concentrated heat needed to deflect electricity was literally in the palm of his hand, and somehow, despite his injuries, the giant's body was continuing to grow stronger than ever, due to his sheer will alone.

Thor felt a slight chill run up his spine, as he gazed at the flames around Darunia's fists. His stone body could withstand temperatures of over eight thousand degrees, and yet, his fists seemed to be softening under the intense heat, turning white under the fire.

"I've never seen such an intense fire" Thor realized, "since last I saw dread Surtur himself."

No other member of Hyrule's team could summon the sheer amount of brute force that Darunia wielded, and at that moment, it had been multiplied several-fold. If anyone could vanquish a god with his fists alone, it would be the goron boss.

"You call storms, and soak the land under my feet." Darunia announced angrily, "You strike with a blow that can shatter stone, and a speed that rivals the strongest hylians, but I don't care! I'm not going to let you win this fight, no matter how strong you are!"

Leaping forward in the very next moment, Darunia brandished his flame-coated fists, and Thor readied his hammer. Their blows were almost equal in destructive power, and for the very first time in a long, long time, Thor felt real, mortal terror in the face of a foe whose power might be enough to penetrate his immortal skin...

* * *

No one could see the final blows of either combatant. The flames consumed the entire mountain in a blast, which no one had ever expected to see, but when the two reappeared in the teleportation area a while later, a sigh of disappointment rose up from both sides.

Thor held the wounded and unconscious Darunia in his arms, his hammer resting on the floor beside him. It was the first waking moment in many years that he'd allowed the weapon to leave his grasp for more than a few seconds. Darunia, meanwhile; wounded, but alive, was the loser of that fight, but the real shock was in discovering what had happened to Thor.

His armor had practically torn itself apart in the face of the blows of his enemy. He walked with a limp, and with an obvious ache in his side, and on his chin and chest, there could be seen a slight trickle of blood.

"He's not completely invulnerable." Link realized aloud, voicing everyone's combined observations, "What if none of them were? What if any of them could be killed with cataclysmic force like that?"

Slowly, Thor walked over to Link's team, and placed Darunia on the ground in front of Byrna, then moved back to join his team, after having picked up his weapon again. Mjolner had survived the fight completely intact, but the rest of him, which he'd once thought was completely invulnerable, had been damaged somehow. Slowly, Thor was beginning to realize the truth of his own situation in awe and amazement. As mighty as they were over one another, and over other mortals, he and the olympians weren't truly immortal. They possessed everlasting longevity, and bodies that even the weight of mountains couldn't break, but it was still possible for them to be injured; still possible for them to die.

"We are not gods." Thor realized aloud, and suddenly, he felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders; as though some terrible fear had had even him in its grasp for most of his life. Suddenly, he was able to see the truth, and he was released from the horrible fear that he and his family needed to decide the fate of their reality. It was a worry that had always been a part of him, until that very day.

Humbled, but a better man for it, Thor walked past his team, and sat a fair distance from them, paying no heed to the stares that most of them were leveling in his direction.

Soon, it was time for the last fighters of each team to do battle. Ruto stepped up to the platform, and was met there by the olympian with the long, bushy beard. Behind her, Darunia had regained some of his strength; just enough to realize the outcome of the fight, but he didn't seem all that angry over having lost.

"Now" Byrna said to her barely-conscious friend with a smile, "you know how freeing it can be to lose. It seems like you and Thor are both starting to realize that you don't have to be invincible."

Darunia was unable to summon enough power to respond, but it was clear that he understood Byrna's comment well enough.

"I am Ruto." Ruto said, meanwhile, as she approached the teleport platform.

"I am Zeus." her opponent replied, just as briefly and informally, and just a moment later, they'd both stepped forth, and were somewhere new.

* * *

"Morbid! Morbid! That close-minded aristocrat!" Mark furiously exclaimed, as he finished packing up the few possessions he had. It had been less than half an hour since his meeting with the king, and already, he'd decided that the time had come for him to leave the castle. Somehow, word had spread about what the king had requested of him, and his unexpected response toward that request. The very idea that a person should agree to a request, then spend half an hour shouting to himself about it was almost unheard-of in Hyrule, so nearly everyone who worked in the castle had developed a renewed interest in Mark, for however short a time that was destined to last.

"If you have a problem with the king's request, just talk to him about it." Ramie suggested from the other side of the room, where she was helping Mark pack, looking just as confused by his behavior as always, "He's very reasonable, and he cares about what's best for all of us."

"That's not the point, Ramie." Mark replied angrily, "I could have refused to do what he asked me to, and I didn't. What bothers me is how he views my world and my people. He talked about the human race like some kind of moldy growth or virus, destroying everything. Can't you see how offensive that is to me?"

At first, Ramie's expression was the same as always; a confused, but happy look, but as she thought the thing over in her head, her expression began to change. First, a terrible look of pity crept over her features, then the pity began to fade, and there was only anger and frustration left in her eyes. When she finally spoke up again, it was in the tone of a person who'd lost her patience, but was still millions of miles away from losing her integrity.

"What is the matter with you? Do you just not want to see good prevail over evil? Are you really an enemy of justice, or are you such a poor observer that you can't draw even the simplest conclusions from evident facts? You can't honestly tell me that you didn't expect my people would react like this! You've traveled all over our land, seen all the different peoples of Hyrule firsthand, learned all about our different cultures and policies... How could you have expected us to view your race and society as anything but a nightmare?"

"Because I've done everything I can to explain to all you poor, simple farmers just how glorious my world really was!" Mark replied, tired of being polite over something that was making him so angry, "In my world, a lot of the hard labor is done by machines! Most of the jobs in my country don't require us to move a single arm muscle, and yet, you still have to! Why? Because my society is superior!"

Ramie was looking even more dismayed and disgusted, however, as she replied to Mark's latest claim with total confidence.

"With Hyrule's advances in magic and technology, we could live out our entire lives without moving at all, if we really wanted to, but who would want such a vacant life? Without hard work, we'd lose our focus completely; our purpose and our sense of accomplishment; everything a hylian values. We'd survive, but our spirits would die! We work because we know it's the best thing for us! We work because we choose to!"

"What about our monuments?" Mark demanded insistently, "Our magnificent buildings, programs of exploration and so forth? You can't tell me Hyrule has anything that glorious!"

"They don't sound like anything but petty and showy displays, to boast over what little power your people had." Ramie replied with another shake of her head, "They made no real glory, because they didn't bring anything really good to the world, and just wound up making you all feel very self-important, and wasting a lot of precious resources in the meantime."

"But what about our charities?" stammered Mark, "Our battles to restore peace to other nations?"

"The misguided attempts of a corrupt society to force their brand of corruption on others by the sword," Ramie observed angrily, "and as for those so-called 'charities' to which you refer, most of them try to give people the wrong things. The people you're trying to help suffer the ailment of not being able to support themselves. Your charities won't be able to change that, just by putting them on the equivalent of life support. You give people fish, instead of teaching them to. That's short-sighted, foolish, arrogant, and in the end, it can make the problem worse."

"No!" Mark exclaimed, his eyes full of tears, and his heart filled with doubts, "We stand for freedom and justice! We've saved entire nations from slave-masters and tyrants! We're saviors to all good people!"

However, as Mark shouted, Ramie's expression changed again, as if her anger were suddenly fading away, and she looked at him once again, with a pity that nearly broke his heart as he stared her in the eyes as best he could, through his tears. Bowing her head with disappointment, Ramie just dropped the subject where it lay, and left the room quietly, just a moment later. Mark cringed as soon as the door closed behind her, because he knew that any reply from her would have felt better than that final silence.

The moment that Ramie left the room, Mark spun around to face the mirror on top of the dresser in the room he'd slept in just the night before. His facial expression faded swiftly into shock, but it couldn't erase his reddened eyes, and the mixture of teardrops and cold sweat that rolled down his face. For the first time, the shield of pride that he'd been wearing for most of his life started to crack, and the self-righteous messages, which had been pounded into him since grade school began to lose their meaning. Mark started to see his life as a truly singular event; separate from the city, state, nation, and even the world that he'd lived most of his life in; a world that he'd neither made, nor really helped in any significant way, except by the taxes he'd been forced to pay, and even those frequently went to support horrible atrocities.

He saw how little he'd truly done in his life, saw his wife and children; the people who'd depended on him, and realized that he hadn't done anything for them that really mattered. He'd given them food, water, and a place to live; a place where their souls could continue festering with greed, malice and envy; a place where they were encouraged to prey on their fellow man, and they responded in kind, and yet, although he realized all of that, Mark was still only beginning to understand the whole truth about his past.

However, it was still too much for Mark Fitzgerald to bear, and he cried for hours, until night fell again, and sleep stole him away from his fits of sorrow and shame for a while.

* * *

The moment that she came out of her most recent teleportation, Ruto found herself in what looked like a stone temple of some kind, at one end of which was a massive statue of a robed man, holding a trident. He had a long beard, almost totally flat, and a stern expression on his face, but there was something strangely royal about him too.

"Poseidon," Ruto heard Zeus observe from nearby, "god of the sea. He was very disappointed that he wasn't chosen to be one of our champions. If not for the fact that the lords of Asgard demanded we let them send a fighter, he would have been our fifth champion, though. He's my brother."

"You must be in command of some important force yourself." Ruto commented, hoping to learn more about her enemy before their battle began, but fortunately, it seemed that Zeus was confident enough to talk about himself in great depth.

"Several." Zeus replied, "I'm the master of royalty, and I have limited influence over fate itself. I reign over the skies, and my two brothers rule over the seas and the underworld."

"In that case, would you rather we move this fight outdoors?" Ruto asked, gesturing to a small pool of water, just outside the temple, and hoping that Zeus wouldn't notice her real motive for relocating the battle.

"Yes." Zeus replied, much to Ruto's relief, "I would."

The two combatants walked swiftly out of the temple, and examined their surroundings. The pool before them was many yards deep, and was flanked on each side with a row of trees, which led to stone steps beyond, leading downward. The sky above their heads was bright and blue for the most part, but with small clouds, which drifted by from time to time.

Ruto dove into the pool, and Zeus rose up into the air. His power of flight was obvious at once, given how high and slowly he rose, and he seemed to be gathering clouds to his very fingertips as he ascended into the air. Both fighters were clearly in their respective elements.

"I want you to know before I begin this" Zeus said, "that I consider you a most beautiful young siren. Were I not forced into this conflict, I might seek your love."

"If I wasn't forced into this," Ruto replied, in turn, "I might ask for your help in restoring my royal station, but for now, you know that we have to fight."

Zeus nodded a moment later, and just like that, the battle had begun.

The clouds that Zeus had been gathering to his fingertips changed shape in an instant, encircling his wrists like bracelets, and an expression resembling pity came over his face, as he raised one hand into the air.

* * *

Zelda stared at the fight, as it was being projected onto the teleport area ceiling. When Zeus had made his cloud bracelets, the structure of his aura had changed considerably, but whatever he was grabbing from the air was changing it even more. Zelda could see his power with her eyes, as his hand tightened around something, and his entire arm seemed to pulse with electricity. As he held his hand out in front of him, Zelda gasped in horror, however. Zeus was holding a very intense force field in his hand, and electricity was packed so tightly into it, that the weapon, whatever it was, shone like a real bolt of lightning.

* * *

Reacting quickly, Ruto was able to leap upwards out of the water like a dolphin, just as Zeus' lightning attack struck the pool. Ruto was still in mid-jump when the lightning hit, and she looked downward in mid-air, as the electricity coursed over the water and dissipated. As she landed back in the water, she received a small electric shock from the friction, but she could tell that she'd escaped the worst of a very dangerous attack.

Once again, Zeus reached up into the air, to form another lightning attack, but that time, Ruto knew what she was up against, and had a better chance to prepare for it.

At the celebration to commemorate the defeat of the undead forces, Ruto had used her magic to manipulate small amounts of water, and the force of her magic had grown many times stronger since then. At that point, she brought all the magic she could summon into an attack of that nature.

Ruto dove to the very bottom of the pool she was in, and at once, she began to spin her legs like a tornado, displacing so much water, that a small geyser was created, which emerged from the pool. Applying the remainder of her water magic into the geyser, Ruto caused it to shoot up even higher, where it collided so forcefully with her enemy, that he was literally swept from the air and yanked into the water. At once, Ruto was on top of him, letting loose with punches and kicks, backed up by enough strength to survive even the deepest oceans. She could tell that even an immortal like Zeus was starting to feel some of those powerful blows, especially since many of them were knocking the air from his lungs, but he was a person of powerful muscular control. He'd held his breath against the enemy that could truly damage him; the water, and soon, he'd regained his concentration, and rocketed upward, out of the pool, with Ruto still clinging to his legs until the very moment that they emerged. As soon as they left the water, Ruto let go of her enemy, and landed at the side of the pool, however.

"Yeah." Ruto observed aloud, as Zeus took a deep breath, and wiped off his drenched face and beard, "throwing lightning is pretty impressive, but it's still been done. If that's the only trick you've got, this fight is going to be tedious."

Zeus seemed more amused by Ruto's reaction than worried, however, because a moment later, shaking more drops of water from his hair and beard, he remarked, "Indeed. That's far from the end of my abilities. That was only the first power I discovered, when I was younger. If you prove to be competent enough, you may get the chance to see the full extent of my skills."

Suddenly, the clouds around Zeus' wrists separated into a hundred small vapor clouds, which encircled the air above the two combatants almost instantly.

At first, Ruto had been worried that Zeus might start summoning lightning that behaved in unnatural ways, like traveling sideways, or twisting through the air, but he seemed, fortunately, to not be capable of altering the nature of what electricity was. He continued to toss his lightning at her, watching the force field break open on contact with anything but his hand, releasing the lightning bolt downward, and in addition, each of the small cloud formations circling above the two fighters in the air would occasionally release large jolts of lightning towards the ground as well.

Ruto found dodging the bolts to be a difficult chore, even after she learned to simply avoid the shadows of the clouds, and having to fight her immortal adversary at the same time was a horrifying task, especially out of water.

The zora fighter dodged in and out of the electric bolts as fast as she could, but was only able to deliver one or two solid punches to Zeus' chest and midsection at a time, and she could tell that they weren't doing any good. With every second she spent out of water, Ruto's incredible strength and speed seemed to drain away more and more. She knew that in a very short time, she'd be utterly incapable of harming her enemy at all, and he seemed to be able to keep up his attack indefinitely. It didn't take long before Ruto realized that there was no use trying to wait him out. She only had one choice. Whether or not his lightning could kill her, she needed to get back in the water, to restore her strength as much as possible.

Tossing caution to the wind, Ruto leapt back into the pool and braced herself, as a bolt of lightning struck the water from above.

Ruto had expected horrifying pain, and there certainly was that, but she'd also expected to be dead within moments. That, fortunately, didn't turn out to be the case. In fact, there was a part of her somewhere in her midsection that seemed to crave more. It almost felt like having a second stomach, which had never been fed before.

As that occurred, Ruto thought back to her fight with Alato; the matter-eraser. She'd only managed to win that fight by summoning electricity from within, and for a few moments, she wondered if she could accomplish such a feat again. Concentrating hard, Ruto struggled for control, simultaneously in pain and hunger for a higher voltage, then crossed both arms in front of her face, and her entire body began to glow with the power that surrounded her. The pain began to abate almost as soon as she did that, and she started to feel fuller. Her body was absorbing every watt of electricity from the water around her, turning the aura around her body into one of a more electrical nature. In mere moments, she could tell that she had an organ in her body for absorbing and storing the electricity, because she knew that it was completely full. It was the only explanation for what had happened to her, and the way it had made her feel.

Her electric organ fully-powered, Ruto's body began to repel the electricity, instead of absorbing it, but as before, she felt no further pain. In a moment, she'd risen to the surface of the pool, and sat there on top of a geyser of water; six feet tall, looking Zeus right in the eye again, with more confidence than ever.

"That was a mistake, sky lord." Ruto's voice boomed, as her body glowed all over, "I've been absorbing all of that power, and now, I have enough to strike down even you with pure electricity."

For a few moments, Zeus was silent, but at last, he started to laugh. In fact, he was laughing long and loud, and in spite of her newfound strength, that laugh was starting to make Ruto feel afraid again.

At last, Zeus said, "You can't strike me down with electricity, young siren. We have that one power in common. However, when your body absorbs electricity, you merely channel it into your electric aura directly. It has a more indirect effect on me, and you're the first mortal who's ever earned the right to witness it."

In just a moment, Zeus looked up, into the cloud-filled sky, and once again, he rose from the ground, shouting a series of short words, which Ruto had never heard before, but she recognized them as an incantation all the same.

The sky seemed to almost creak at that moment, as though some cosmic force were tearing it open, and a shining, blue bolt of lightning came crashing down against Zeus' body, so hard that the sheer force of the bolt's descent was enough to throw Ruto off her geyser, and back into the pool. From under the waves of the tiny pool of water, however, she saw Zeus at the core of the lightning bolt, his body sucking up all the electricity around him, until there was nothing left of the bolt, but a golden aura surrounding the god king's skin.

For a few moments, Ruto hoped that the aura would be all for show, but suddenly, Zeus seemed to vanish, and a moment later, a person moving with several times the power and speed of any projectile created by man grabbed Ruto around the waist, and dragged her down to the very bottom of the pool.

When submerged in water, Ruto could feel her own powers rising once again, to nearly invincible levels, but the change in her enemy was obvious. Zeus had somehow increased his own strength, speed, and his ability to react to attacks. It was quickly becoming clear to her that underwater, each of them had distinct advantages. Zeus possessed a slight advantage in strength, and a distinct one in speed, and Ruto had the advantage of being able to breathe underwater, and of being rejuvenated by it.

At last, however, after the two had struggled furiously for a while, with the very walls of the pool around them quaking from the might of their blows, Zeus seemed to have lost his patience, and shot directly upward again, out of the water.

Ruto was scared to leave the water for even a moment by then, because she suspected that once she did, she'd be vulnerable to his blows, and would die very quickly, but she instantly regretted not trying to drag him back under the waves, when she heard him uttering his magic again, and saw the water's surface above her ripple with the resounding noise of yet another lightning strike.

Afraid, but determined, Ruto rose to the surface of the water, and gasped at what she saw there.

The golden glow surrounding Zeus had been replaced with a shining aura, which pulsed in all the colors of the rainbow. Zeus held in his hands two glowing bolts of energy, but those bolts shone brighter than any of the ones he'd used in the past.

"Can you see why I'm the king of all the olympians yet?" Zeus bellowed, "Can you see why all the gods of Olympus fear my power? If my abilities aren't enough to crush a foe, I can simply change them! The strength and speed of the gods weren't enough to completely defeat you, so I'm using the greatest of all my powers! These are the bolts of final imprisonment. They can imprison any immortal being, and kill any mortal creature. I've used them only twice. Once to destroy a large forest, during the days of my father's reign, and once to banish the ancient titans from Olympus. They can destroy anything in their path, and they never, ever miss!"

Ruto, not knowing what else to do, just dove back underwater, and closed her eyes, as Zeus boasted about his ultimate weapon, preparing for the worst, but her enemy had hurled his most powerful weapon in only a second, and for a while, she was blinded; even through her closed eyelids.

* * *

Even those watching from the teleport area couldn't look upon the greatest weapon of the god king directly. It was a sight that had never been meant for mortal eyes. The power of those bolts seemed to call down even more lightning, all around them, which struck with the deafening noise of thunder, breaking open the very ground for miles.

* * *

Ruto felt as if she'd just been at the center of some massive hurricane, but after the sound of crumbling earth and receding thunder had finally died away, she realized that the remaining sounds didn't make much sense. There were noises, as though Zeus was still struggling against his enemy, but Ruto was definitely still underwater, and Zeus was a long distance away from her. It almost sounded, in fact, as if he was struggling with himself.

As Ruto's vision slowly began to return, she received yet another clue about what had just happened. That clue was that in spite of all that had just taken place around her, she wasn't dead yet.

For a while, Ruto just waited, listening carefully to her foe, as he banged and crashed around, shouting and cursing in an alien tongue. Then, she heard him utter more of his incantations, and heard the booming noise of more lightning, followed by more curses. At last, she ventured to peek above the water's surface for a second, and nearly burst out laughing at what she saw.

Zeus lay on the floor, right beside the pool, surrounded by a cage, which seemed to be made of pulsing lightning bolts. He seemed to struggle against them as hard as he could, but those were bolts that his body couldn't absorb; bolts that stung him whenever he tried to touch them; bolts of the very same sort which he'd used to imprison his father Cronos; titan lord of time many ages ago. They were bolts from which no known force could escape; not even himself. Zeus had been imprisoned in his own attack.

At last, Ruto climbed back out of the water, and walked to within earshot of Zeus, though she was careful to keep far enough away from the glowing bolts, that they couldn't harm her, and after a few moments, she spoke to her enemy with a pleased grin.

"I'd say you're immobilized, which means I've won."

"How?" Zeus yelled from within his prison, "I had everything! I had all the power in the universe! I was lord over all the gods! How could you, a mere mortal, defeat me?"

"Mainly because of what you just said yourself." Ruto replied, never dropping her grin for a moment, "Everyone's always been afraid of you. No one ever challenged you, because they were scared that you'd beat them, so you hardly ever had to use your higher-level powers. Because you didn't have much practice with them, you weren't even aware of what side effects many of your powers had. For example, you didn't know that your imprisonment bolts could be deflected back at the user by certain things. Apparently, water is one of those things."

"No! It isn't!" Zeus yelled angrily, "My bolt should have destroyed the water completely, unless..."

Just then, however, Ruto heard the sound of someone rising up out of the water behind her, and as she turned to look, she saw the very person that she'd expected to see.

Slowly, he stepped forth from the pool, and the water slid easily from his hair and beard, as his trident clanged against the ground.

"You were foolish, brother." said Poseidon with a smile, "You should have kept to your air domain."

Zeus had an expression of horrible hate all over his face at that point, but at the same time, he was clearly afraid.

"You did this." Zeus insisted, "You interfered in our fight."

"As I understand the terms of the conflict," Poseidon replied, "bystanders can interfere in the fight all they want. Environmental hazards are part of the battle."

Ruto chuckled just a little when she heard that. She certainly hadn't expected the sea god to refer to himself as an environmental hazard.

"You know, brother, since the day you first rose to power, I've always wanted to put you in your place." Poseidon continued as he walked closer to the cage, "You went and claimed the sky domain, which could have been mine. I was furious. I felt cheated. I wanted to toss you into Tartarus with our father. When I saw what you did to Hades after the rebellion, it only made me hate you even more, because I knew that I could have ruled just as well as you."

"You're a vindictive god, brother." Zeus replied, much more calmly, but still with obvious fear in his voice, "You'd bring a new age of darkness to our people."

"You're talking as if our people haven't lived in darkness under you." Poseidon spat out, suddenly looking angry, "For ages, we've listened to everything that you've said, and followed you wherever you went, but we'll never be able to be like a real family, because you were always too intent on proving your superiority to build any real relationships. You had to be the mightiest; you had to be the strongest and smartest, and everyone had to follow you or else. Fear has been the mood of our people, brother, since the reign of your father first began, and it continued when you rose to power, whether you want to admit that or not."

Zeus was silent, however. For several seconds, both gods were completely silent, in fact, and it was then that Ruto spoke up, hoping to add something to their conversation, which could hardly be considered private.

"If you rule through fear, no one will be your friend. Despots inspire very little loyalty."

"You should listen to this one." Poseidon noted, though he didn't even glance at Ruto directly, "It was her thoughts that inspired me to intervene. I knew she had every intention of using the wish to save all our worlds, but I couldn't let you get it, brother, or the fear would never end."

At last, however, when he heard those words, Zeus spoke again.

"I admit, I've lorded my power over the other gods. Maybe it was because of Prometheus, or Hades, or Cronos, or the others who've rebelled against what I knew things had to be like for our world. I thought it was the only way to keep the others in line; the only way to keep things running smoothly. Maybe... Maybe... Maybe that was unwise of me. If only I could simply erase that fear, I think I'd rule more fairly."

"Fear like that won't go away all at once," Ruto replied quickly, "just because you decide to change things. I think it'll probably take a while before your people are ready to work on a better means of government; something that'll give your people the chance to live happily, and maybe even start making peace with the other pantheons."

Zeus swallowed again, and for a moment, Ruto could have almost sworn that she saw a tear falling from his eye.

"I've lived for ten thousand lifetimes," the ancient monarch said sadly, "but for the first time, I don't know where to begin. I should feel miserable that I have so little control right now, but..."

At that, he paused and swallowed again, obviously trying to think of something to say next...

"But something about the newness of the experience is enjoyable. Your method may not work for us, Ruto, but I'll do all I can to give it a try; at least for a century or two. I only hope that none of the others decide to view it as a moment of weakness to prey on."

At that, Poseidon turned on his heel, and walked back towards the pool. As he began to sink down into the water again, however, Zeus asked, "Why don't you just strike me down, brother?"

"I suspect that in mere moments, you'll be released, and returned to the teleport area of your conflict." Poseidon replied with a wave of his hand, "What would it accomplish to try to imprison you further?"

"Are you telling me that this entire fight was futile?"

Poseidon smiled, however; the smile of someone who'd just been handed a rather cruel pleasure, and said in a satisfied voice, "You've been taught humility, brother. You've been taught that you're neither invincible nor infallible. I should say that this conflict hasn't been futile for either of us."

At that, he vanished beneath the water's surface, and was gone. Ruto felt something resembling longing, as she watched the sea god leave, but she had her people to worry about, and she knew that she couldn't afford to concern herself too much with the people of other worlds. Those were some of the things she contemplated as she found herself back in the teleport area.

* * *

As it turned out, the true test of which team would be the victor lay in a race to the exit between Apollo and Link. The others were moving quite slowly, or in some cases, not really able to move at all, but Link managed to beat the sun god by no more than a hair, and the others were soon to follow. Ruto had to carry Darunia on her back, but the other hylian champions made it without any help at all. The olympians were stunned and exhausted from the hard battles, and the fact that they'd lost the majority of them, so that slowed them down in reaching the exits. When all was said and done, Hyrule's team was advancing, and the gods would return to their own home-world, with their very survival resting on the shoulders of Link and his team. Hardly any of them were happy about that, but they had no choice. They had to accept the result. Link's team had won, and there were only four teams remaining in the conflict. In three days, the matches would continue, but for the moment, Link and his team had some time to rest and prepare for the upcoming battles. They knew they'd have to be at their best if they wanted to win against anyone tougher than gods...

* * *

However, the team from Hyrule was starting to wonder just what it meant for an enemy to be as tough as a god, because as enemies, the gods hadn't really seemed that tough. Certainly, they'd lost more matches than in any team battle before that, but was that what really guaged how tough a fight was?

Darunia, for one, didn't think so, and neither did Ruto. He approached Ruto after the fight, as she swam in her small resting-pool, and she told him that he'd gotten off easy, not merely because her enemy had been tougher, but because he probably couldn't have killed Thor, even if his power had been twice or three times what it was.

"We fought enemies today; both mortal and immortal." Ruto explained to her friend after a little while, "But your real enemy was your inability to really focus when there's the chance you may need to take a life. You didn't have to face that enemy today. I only hope you'll defeat it before our next match. They can't all be immortals, after all."

Darunia could tell that Ruto knew what she was talking about. Ruto, Link, Stalflare and the others all knew precisely how to justify the kill. They'd taken the lives of many enemies, who refused to be taken prisoner, and they'd been protecting their people whenever they did, so they hadn't given it much thought, but not killing a living, thinking creature was the very first rule a goron learned as a child, and it was repeated to them regularly as they grew up. It was something so ingrained into them, that many gorons were utter pacifists. Darunia had to wonder if he could truly defeat that. Could he take another life in cold blood?

"I hope I don't have to." Darunia thought to himself, as he retreated back to his quarters. For the moment, he decided that he couldn't afford to think about it anymore.

* * *

Ruto sighed as she considered what she was being faced with. Her powers were as great as the zoras of the ancient legends of her people, but they were still being dwarfed by some of the fighters who she was meeting in that conflict. How, she wondered, could she be sure that Hyrule had the team that was best able to claim the wish? She knew that if they could win, Hyrule's forces would use the wish to save everyone, but could they truly claim victory? If not, was there another way to protect everyone?

There was one thing, however, that Ruto no longer doubted. Link's words had cut her to the bone before that conflict had begun, but it was her own desire to be a better person; more worthy of being royalty, which had forced her to accept the terms of the conflict; to join Link and the others, and to fight on behalf of her kingdom. It had taken a great deal of soul-searching before she'd realized that, but she was finally convinced of the truth about her own motives, and that, she realized, had been worth it.

* * *

Byrna dwelled on her recent and most simple victory as she worked on her armor in her rooms at the lakeside laboratory. She'd hardly needed to use her new weapons in her last battle, but she could feel that her own wisdom had increased from the fight, and it was even possible that she might have a chance to increase some of her other abilities in preparation for the next fight as well.

However, for some reason, that didn't really motivate Byrna as much as it once had. Having experienced both failure and success, and knowing that she wasn't alone in those experiences, Byrna began to feel parts of her apprehension about her abilities slipping away. There'd been a time when her every moment was spent in fear of not being good enough. She still had those fears sometimes, but the balance in her mind had been righted, and she wasn't being consumed by them anymore.

"I didn't grow up when I was a child." Byrna realized silently, as she started to weld a tiny, metal plate back onto her armor, "I've only just started to do that recently."

* * *

Stalflare had very few misgivings about his last fight. He'd acknowledged Apollo as "a powerful person," but said no more on the subject once the fight had finished. Zelda, however, had something troubling her, which she needed to discuss with Link.

Link was reading a book that he'd found in his room, when Zelda opened the door and stepped inside. He immediately noticed that she'd entered, and gave her his full attention at once.

"What's wrong?" Link asked, laying the book down, and seeing the worried look in the eyes of Hyrule's princess.

Zelda had removed the mask from her uniform, and her hair and face were exposed. She closed the door behind her, and sat in a chair nearby, facing Link, looking as concerned as ever.

"The olympians worried me, Link." Zelda said with a look of sorrow in her eyes, "I mean, they pretty much lived their whole lives through fear. The people who trained me as a child; the shiekah, had a lot of fear in their lives too. They used fear to provide encouragement in their traditions; not fear of one another, of course, but fear of failure, and of disappointing the people you love. Hylians don't do things that way. I wonder if the shiekah were wrong to integrate fear into their society like that."

Zelda looked into Link's eyes for a moment after she brought her concerns up, but saw that he was smiling at her in kindness and warmth, as one person who truly cares about the wellbeing of another, and that made her feel pretty relieved when she saw that.

"Your people did what was right for them." Link replied with a shrug, "Hylians do things differently, because hylians and shiekah are different, but every sensible person has to have some element of fear in their lives. Fear isn't just a mortal terror that freezes us in place; it's a reinforcement for our moral center; a voice inside of us that tells us when we're in danger, and helps to guide us away from immoral actions. Fear is a companion, which helps remind us of the things about ourselves that we value most. That's how we know to steer clear of sharp objects as children, and to work for the good of everyone as adults, but neither of our people have been terrorized into slavery because of our own bad decisions, and I couldn't be happier about that. A little fear is a good thing; it's only when it's taken to its furthest extreme that it becomes something to be avoided."

Zelda had to admit that she felt much better since Link had explained the situation to her so well, and in a moment, she rose to her feet, still looking the Hero of Time in the eyes.

"Good night, Link," Zelda said with a pleased smile, as she opened the door to leave, "and thank you."

"Good night, Princess." Link replied, but just then, Zelda paused where she was; in the doorway. Link had used her formal title; "princess," which meant, she realized, that his heart belonged to someone other than Zelda. He couldn't have said that more clearly, and in other times, she might have been saddened to tears by that fact, but for the moment, just having him there; helping to protect her people, and helping her to do the same was comforting, whether the two could have ever found love or not.

A moment later, Zelda returned to her own room to rest and prepare for the next day, when her training would have to continue, and she'd have to do her best to serve as a protector of her people as well. It wasn't all she wanted out of life, but a protector was, she knew, one of the best things that a person could be.

* * *

On the following morning, Mark woke up on the floor of his room, with a soaked spot on the rug beneath where his face had rested the night before. As quickly as he could, Mark got to his feet, and saw the light pouring in through the bedroom window. The light seemed almost like a symbol of some event or occurrence. It was only then, when Mark looked into the mirror, that he realized that his old life had been behind him since he'd first appeared in Hyrule, and yet, and he'd never quite accepted that. He'd never really come to grips with the fact that he was living in Hyrule, and he couldn't just go back to the way he'd lived before. He'd never quite believed that his earthly life was over, and he had to ask himself why that was. Had he been unwilling to accept the loss of his wife and children? Had he felt that Earth was still his home, after all that time? Had he simply been unwilling to see what was truly going on around him? Why, he asked himself, hadn't he ever tried to accept his fate?

Maybe, Mark reasoned, it was because he hadn't wanted to take the responsibility of getting used to the ways of a different world. Perhaps he'd felt unable to handle the differences in Hyrule. Perhaps...

A swirl of emotions and doubts swarmed through his mind. His true desires had been concealed, even from him, since long before he'd landed in Hyrule, he gradually realized. At the moment, he didn't know what he wanted out of life, though, and he knew that he needed to tell Ramie the truth about that.

Pushing open the front door, Mark rushed from his room, still dressed in his tear-soaked shirt, and ran through the castle, searching for Ramie. He found many servants, who were very befuddled by his attitude and appearance, but for some reason, Ramie was nowhere to be seen.

At last, Mark decided that his friend had to be in town, so he rushed from the castle, leaving his few possessions there, and not even bothering to change his shirt. Within minutes, Mark had stumbled into town, and looked around, and it was only then, for the very first time, that he began to see things as they were.

In the past, Mark had seen those people and their lives as a surface; a disguise for some dark secret, to keep people from learning the truth. After all, that was the way things had always been on Earth. However, he was starting to look at them with new eyes; eyes open to the emptiness of his past, and where he'd come from. He saw a young woman selling stuffed toys to young boys and girls, which she and two other young ladies had sown in the back of their tiny shop. He saw an older woman playing with her dog in the middle of the square, as young girls raced around them. He saw a husband and wife hugging by the fountain, and an old woman, who could barely even walk without the aid of a cane, dressed in a shawl, watching the people go about their business from one side of town. He saw a man and woman talking, as the woman expressed her interest in the difference between normal woodcutting techniques and the kind used by the gerudo. Mark saw two young men juggling for kicks at the south of town, and an honest store, which sold novelty items, and armor for defense. He saw the Temple of Time off in the distance; a towering symbol of the willingness of hylians to do the necessary hard work, in order to accomplish great things.

Mark saw all of that with his eyes open, and he couldn't see a single frown anywhere in that panoramic vision. As simple as the town was, Mark saw people who were truly happy with their lives, and who lived in perfect peace and brotherhood together. He saw so much, all at once, that his mind couldn't take it all in, and he fell to his hands and knees once more, crying new tears. However, unlike his tears from the night before, his new tears were tears of joy.

Then, through the haze of tears, Mark saw Ramie again, and she saw him. She'd just emerged from the Temple of Time, and noticed him kneeling there, in the street. Quickly, Ramie ran up to him, still visibly concerned for his wellbeing, but just then, she saw the expression on his face, and seemed to have some understanding of what was happening to him almost at once.

As soon as Ramie had fixed her attention on Mark, he did his best to speak to her, choosing his words very carefully.

"Since I first arrived here, I've wanted to return home." Mark said sadly, not even having the courage to look Ramie in the eye, "I wanted it so much, that I refused to believe that your differences from my civilization were anything good. I know I may have seemed like I embraced your lifestyle, but honestly, I never gave you or your people a chance. I opened my eyes, but not my heart. I didn't want to believe that my past life had any flaws or imperfections, or that yours had anything mine lacked. I wanted to fool myself, and as it turned out, I really was a fool."

"What are you saying?" Ramie asked, looking stunned and confused, as her own eyes began to water slightly.

"I... I... I..." Mark stammered, and then paused to take a deep breath, before he dared to even try to continue, "I want to be one of you. I want to be a hylian. I don't want to dwell on my lost past, or on my home-world anymore. I want to fit in here."

Quickly, Ramie helped Mark to his feet, and for a moment, they simply stared at one another through tears of joy, but at last, Ramie said, with a beautiful smile, "Well, it's a start."

Both laughed and cried almost simultaneously, as they walked back to the castle. Mark had traveled all over the land of Hyrule already at that point, but it was only just then that his true journey had begun.


	15. Pt2 Ch7 Worlds and Ideals

Chapter 7: Worlds and Ideals

* * *

Two days passed in a flash, and to Mark, it felt as though there was hardly any time to explore what Hyrule really was with his heart open. Because of that, he decided not to try to explore everything all at once, instead choosing to focus more on the proper behaviors expected of hylians. He was pleased to find that since hylians didn't compete viciously with each other for money, and certainly didn't cheat one another, their lives and careers were relatively straightforward. Good interpersonal behavior was approximately what had been expected on earth in the nineteen-fifties, and Mark found it very easy to pick up on; so easy, in fact, that he'd mastered most proper behavioral customs within a single day of study.

After that, Mark got to work again, picking up some apples from the kokiri, and delivering them to the other peoples. At the time, the kokiri had little choice but to allow him to re-enter their forest, but he could tell that they were still nervous around him, because most of them were avoiding him. He left the forest again within a single day. However, Mark didn't feel too bad about that. After all, he'd shocked the kokiri the last time he'd been among them, and if it took them a while to recover from that shock, he could hardly blame them for it.

"Besides," Mark reasoned silently, while leaving the forest, "they'll get over it eventually."

The zoras refused to let Mark enter their domain that time. It would probably be that way for quite a while, though. They weren't a very forgiving people. Still, Mark felt some misgivings, and since his road to Gerudo Valley ran past Kakariko, he decided to visit Ramie again, and spend some time talking to her about it.

* * *

"People will get over what I've said and done in the past, right?" Mark asked, as Ramie poured him some tea in the upper floors of her shop that afternoon. Ramie, however, was still smiling, so Mark knew what her answer was going to be.

"Of course." she said, sipping from her own cup, as she stood behind the counter of her store, "Just give them all a few weeks, and they'll be ready to accept you again."

For a couple moments, Mark just thought that over. There were a hundred different feelings inside of him by that point, all fighting for dominance, and most of them were telling him that Hyrule was a great place to live; all he could hope for, in fact, except...

"I don't know." Mark said at last, "There's still one big problem I can't shake. Back home on Earth, I had a wife and kids; a family. I know it's not my fault what happened, but... It still doesn't feel right. I mean, to them, it must seem like I just suddenly went missing, and... Well, I've got such a great life here, that I just don't feel like it's right to leave them behind. I feel like I'm abandoning them."

"I can understand why you'd be worried about that." Ramie agreed quickly, "I mean, you've been forced apart from your loved ones, and you'd be cold-hearted if that kind of thing was easy for you to take. Tell me something; when you first arrived in Hyrule, where were you?"

"Near the lakeside laboratory." Mark replied, "Why?"

"Because," Ramie explained, her smile growing for a moment, "I think we should put the rest of your deliveries on hold, until we've had a chance to try to return you home."

* * *

That afternoon, Ramie and Mark arrived back at the laboratory, where Byrna was working on some new weapon. The champion scientist hadn't been expecting visitors, and for a moment, she was worried they might be bringing bad news from the crown, but when they explained their dilemma, and what Mark wanted, Byrna's relief was obvious, and she calmed down almost instantly, offering to help as best she could.

"I just wish there was some way to return home for a while." Mark explained to Byrna, as she fiddled with a teleportation device that she had on one of the large, sturdy desks in her section of the lab, "I mean, it doesn't seem right to just leave my family wondering where I am."

"Where did you say you first appeared?" Byrna asked him, looking more interested by his problem in a scientific sense, rather than actually worrying about how he felt.

"Just outside the lab." Mark replied, "It was near the first patch of bushes between here and Hyrule Field."

"Then help me with this." Byrna said, lifting one side of the device she'd been tampering with. Mark picked up the other side of the machine carefully, and together, they carried it out to the spot that Mark said he'd arrived at, laying the large, heavy machine down in the grass.

"Now then," Byrna continued, still looking intrigued, as though by some fascinating puzzle, rather than a real, human problem, "When you came here, it was from a certain place, and I think I can determine what coordinates to send you back to, if I can find the exact spot."

As she said that, Byrna picked up another device; about the size of an attaché case. It had a series of small keys on it, with hylian letters written on them, and soon, she began punching a command into the tiny machine. As she did that, she walked back and forth along the area, and eventually lowered her device, looking satisfied.

"Okay." she said, sounding captivated by what she was seeing, "I think I've got it. By the way, you actually landed here, and tumbled over there."

Grabbing the edge of the teleporter, Byrna dragged it a few meters to the west, and one to the north. When she was sure that she had it positioned right, she pushed the button on the top, and Mark watched in wonder as it opened, revealing the same kind of distortion that he'd stepped through to reach Hyrule.

"Don't go through just yet." Byrna warned him quickly, then motioning for Ramie to follow her, she rushed back into the lab. Moments later, both hylian women returned with a smaller teleportation device, and placed it on the first platform. It vanished almost instantly, at which point Byrna giggled just a little, looking delighted that her device was working so well.

"Can I go through now?" Mark asked, starting to feel just a little bit impatient.

"Yes." Byrna replied with a big grin, "In fact, it's the only way to find out if we've succeeded in setting the teleporter right. If the coordinates are right, you'll wind up in your own world with a ready doorway back. If not, you could wind up anywhere, but you should still be able to get back here."

Mark just nodded to indicate that he understood, though for some reason, he didn't really feel like smiling, even as he stepped up to the platform and disappeared.

* * *

Jennifer Fitzgerald had sat at the kitchen table for hours, wondering if her husband would ever return, almost certain that he'd run off, and wondering how she was going to pay the bills without his regular checks. Her son Brian and daughter Melanie were growing older, and would definitely not be easy to take care of for a single parent, but Mark had been gone for over a week and a half, and she was beginning to lose hope.

The clock on the wall of their apartment home ticked its way to seven thirty PM, when suddenly, there was a knock at the door. It sounded like a nervous knock, as if someone were knocking on a cage containing vicious, man-eating lions. Quickly, Jennifer hurried to her feet, however, as fast as she could, and swung the door open, and there he stood, like a ray of hope. Her husband had returned.

Jennifer lunged forward into the hallway to give Mark a big hug, but as she did so, he shrank back away from her, backing up against the far wall, almost as though he was afraid of her.

"Mark!" Jennifer exclaimed, retreating backwards a few steps, as soon as she noticed how her husband was behaving, "What is it? What's wrong?"

Mark's muscles had been tensed up when she'd gotten closer to him, but a moment later, he seemed to relax just a little, and remarked, "I'm home."

* * *

"I know how long I've been gone, Jennifer," Mark explained that night, as the two talked over dinner. Mark had stubbornly refused to take off the clothes he'd brought back with him, and Jennifer was dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans. Their children were off in their own rooms, having eaten dinner earlier. Mark was staring Jennifer in the eyes, though, as he continued to speak to her, "but it was worth it. It was totally worth it. You can't even imagine everything I have the power to give to our family now."

"Mark..." Jennifer exclaimed, suddenly interested by what her husband was saying, "Did you find some money? We need money. Since you left, we've fallen behind on the rent, and..."

"Money?" Mark nearly bellowed, sounding truly surprised by his wife's suggestion, "Is that all? Just try selling this! Just try it!"

At that point, Mark tossed a glittering rupee onto the table in front of him, and Jennifer's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. It was a gemstone; nearly the size of her change purse, flawless in shape and form, without a single crack or imperfection. She looked up at Mark with longing for just a moment, but at last, he just told her "Go ahead and touch it. It's perfectly safe. You won't break it. It's incredible, isn't it? There are forty-nine more just like this, all to my name."

By that point, a look of relief mixed with desire was spreading over Jennifer's face, but her skepticism was still just as strong as ever.

"You can't be serious, Mark! I've never seen anything like it! We'll never have to worry about money again."

However, when Jennifer said that, she'd started to get a look in her eye that Mark didn't like. He'd seen that look come over her face a thousand times before, whenever she noticed that he'd received another paycheck, but in those days, his eyes had been closed to what that expression really meant; what it was. At that moment, Mark practically leapt forth, and seized the rupee from her grasp.

"Stop that." Mark told her, as the expression faded from her face, giving way to a look of surprise and longing, "Don't do that anymore."

For a moment, Jennifer just looked stunned and confused, but at last, she asked, "Do what?"

"You got a look in your eye just now." Mark replied, "Don't do that."

"What do you mean?" Jennifer asked again, the look of desire once again returning to her eyes, regardless, "You want to support the family, don't you?"

"Yes. More than you can imagine." Mark replied, still looking warily into her eyes, as though she were a venomous cobra about to strike, "That's why you have to look past this money and listen to my story."

To Jennifer, the item of greatest interest was still the rupee, but she seemed to decide that her best chance of getting it from him was to humor him for a while.

"Remember over a week ago, when the Freedom Brigade mentioned the challenge? Remember how they told us that they'd bring back victory, and that our world would be spared? Remember how they left in the middle of the park; the device they used to travel to that other world?"

Jennifer nodded in response. She remembered all of that. Just before Mark had vanished, the champions of their world had announced that the teleportation device they'd recently built had revealed a new threat to the people of planet Earth, but that no one should worry, because on their watch, justice would always prevail. They'd set up the teleportation device in the middle of the park, and amid a rather large celebration, they'd vanished into it, going God-only-knew where.

"I was there." Mark explained eagerly, "I was at the celebration. I knew you didn't want me to go down there, but I'd never seen the entire Freedom Brigade in person in my life, and I knew I had to see them at least once. I went there, but the crowd was too dense, so I tried to push through them to see the heroes, but I was too late. I could only catch a glimpse of Spectro's back, as he vanished into the device. I was feeling pretty disappointed at the time, so I started to leave, but I was so distracted, that I tripped over someone's foot, and stumbled backwards onto a stone step. I was shocked by the sudden fall, and feeling scared of all the people standing there. I felt like they were about to trample right over me, so I panicked. I mean, I think I panicked. Maybe I just lost control, or maybe I really wanted to know where the Freedom Brigade had gone, but suddenly, I found myself right on top of the teleporter, and then, I was flying through space, and past other worlds. It was like there'd been a huge void inside the teleporter, and suddenly, I was hurtling through it, with lights, sounds and colors of all kinds zipping by me in the blink of an eye. Midway through my trip, though, I collided with something. I'm not sure what it was; probably someone else, traveling in another direction. As far as I can tell, that threw me off-course, so instead of going to the same place that the freedom brigade had, I wound up next to a lake, with some small buildings nearby..."

Hours passed as Mark related every detail of his incredible story to his wife. At last, however, she stood up. It was clear to him that she hadn't believed a word of it, and had grown quite bored with his tale, but she replied to him, regardless, saying, "As long as you can provide more gemstones like that, it doesn't matter to me where they come from."

Mark threw up his hands in frustration at that point, however, and practically yelled, "But don't you see? That's the whole point! I'm not here to supply gemstones; I'm here to supply salvation!"

"Salvation?" Jennifer asked, with more than a bit of skepticism and worry in her eyes, "Mark, what are you talking about?"

"You need to understand…" Mark exclaimed ecstatically, "That's why I came back; for you, Melanie, and Brian. I want to take you all back with me to Hyrule!"

* * *

A look of unreasoning fear had crept over Jennifer's eyes when Mark had announced that he wanted to take their family to another world. She'd fled to their bedroom almost at once, and locked the door behind her. When she came back out in the morning, Mark hadn't gotten a wink of sleep, though. He was still too excited, and too intent on pressing the matter. He wanted them to simply drop everything and leave with him, as if nothing else in the world made any difference. Maybe, he eventually conceded, they could send letters to very close relatives, to explain their decision, but that was it. The tax agents, employers and police officers could rant and rave over their disappearance all they wanted to after that, he explained, but they certainly couldn't retrieve them from another world.

"Mark," Jennifer said at last, getting angrier by the minute, "stop this. You've had some silly dream or something. We're not going anywhere."

However, losing himself to his enthusiasm, Mark grabbed her by both shoulders, and looked very carefully into her eyes, then asked her quite seriously, "What do you have here that's worth staying for? What can this world offer you that you could trade for paradise?"

"Mark... I..." Jennifer stammered clumsily, "I... can't... I can't just up and leave. What about my friends? My family? I've sacrificed a lot of my own time and effort to get what I have. I can't just run away from all that."

"Complications!" Mark replied, dismissing her reasoning offhandedly, "Forget them. They don't make any difference."

However, Jennifer still had more to say.

"But we have money now! We can be happy together!"

"No!" Mark yelled, shaking Jennifer hard by the shoulders as he did so, "I didn't come back to give you the hollow pleasure that comes from wealth! I came back to give you true happiness! Do you want it or not?"

However, Jennifer's response was to strike Mark across the face, and after only a moment of silence, he released her and collapsed to the floor in a heap. The slap hadn't hurt him that badly, of course. What had really hurt was the realization of what he'd been doing just then. Tears streamed down Mark's face as he looked up into hers. Far from seeming sorry to have caused pain to another living creature, though, Jennifer still appeared very angry with him. In that moment, Mark's feelings about her started to change. How, he wondered, could he have ever loved her? That woman was so dependent on her societal addictions, that she couldn't understand the importance of heaven. She was right to be angry with him of course, but it was impossible to justify her kind of attitude. Slowly, haltingly, Mark stumbled to his feet again, and watched Jennifer back away from him, wearing a mixed expression of rage and worry.

"I promise, I won't hurt you." Mark tried to assure her a moment later, "In fact, I might never touch you again. I can't live here anymore, and you'll just have to learn to accept that. I'm sorry I can't make that any easier for you. I only pray it's not too late to save our children."

"Don't go near them!" Jennifer exclaimed, suddenly looking even more terrified, but Mark's expression was already firm and determined by that point.

"I won't lose control in front of them, like I did with you." Mark replied, wiping fresh tears from his eyes, as he straightened himself through a positively hylian act of self-control, "But you can't stop me from giving them my offer. I won't let you rob my children of their souls by force. They deserve to have the chance to make their own decisions about their salvation."

* * *

That afternoon, when eighteen-year-old Melanie Fitzgerald got home from school, and entered her room, her father was there waiting for her. She didn't rush forward, though, like her mother had, but she was clearly relieved to see that he was back. Smiling, she sat down on her bed, and said, "Welcome home, Dad. How was your trip?"

"Oh, don't be like that." Mark replied, "I know you missed me. I missed you too."

"Mom's been really worried about the bills since you left." Melanie remarked, as she reached for her hair brush and stepped over to the mirror on one side of the room.

"Mom seems to enjoy worrying." Mark replied, with a very grim expression on his face, "For example, just yesterday, I told her I found the doorway to heaven, but she didn't want to go there with me."

Melanie seemed mildly interested by what Mark had just said, so he started to spin his tale again; his wonderful story about lands and people far beyond what they knew; beyond anything he'd ever dreamed about. When he finally made her the same offer he'd made to her mother, however, her answer was very similar; superficial and addict-like. She asked what the fashions were like in Hyrule, and who made the movies there. What was the dating pool like, and what kind of makeup did they use? When he'd answered her questions, she tried to look interested, but in the end, coughed up a "No thanks Dad. It doesn't sound like heaven to me."

It was an answer that really hurt Mark inside, because he knew that his daughter was just addicted to the pleasures of Earth, and because of that, she wouldn't have been willing to give Hyrule a chance.

* * *

Mark had to wait until nearly midnight, before his twenty-two-year-old son returned home, walked into the bathroom, and started a pre-bed shave. Quickly, Mark approached him, getting a slight nod in recognition of his continued existence, and began to tell his story, but before he could get even halfway through it, his son Brian turned to him, looking annoyed, and said, "Look Dad; I know you've been gone for a while, but you've already made up for all the talking we would have gotten done in the meantime, so can I have the short version?"

In the old days, Jennifer and Mark had seen Brian's behavior as a phase that he'd get through given some time, but with his eyes opened to the truth, Mark could see at once that Brian was in no position to accept heaven, even if he could have understood what Mark was really offering him.

Still, it was possible that he just needed to be awoken to the truth, the way Mark had been. After spending a moment in shock, Mark decided to take another shot at explaining things to his boy.

Mark presented his case carefully, but swiftly, and made his offer in a very short time. Brian looked at him for a moment once he was done talking, and the look on his face was distressingly eloquent. He looked as though he thought his father was insane. A moment later, Brian shrugged and remarked, "Whatever. Sounds kinda lame to me."

Mark's heart almost broke as he heard those words emerging from the mouth of his own son, but he pressed the issue, saying "Think about this carefully. Do you understand what I'm talking about; what you're refusing?"

However, Brian hadn't thought about anything carefully since he was ten, and he wasn't about to start on that evening either. Far from not understanding what he was refusing, he simply didn't care. Brian didn't want to think about that, or about anything else. As far as he was concerned, no TV was all that needed to be said, and the rest of Mark's descriptions fell victim to the paralyzing apathy, which had spread like wildfire throughout the nation of America since the second world war had ended. There was nothing else to say. Brian's views were damaged beyond repair. To him, there was no reason for taking any action to change his life, because nothing mattered and no one made any difference. In Brian's eyes, no principle was worth upholding, and as Mark walked back to the park that night, the pain in his heart was worse than anything he'd ever felt before.

* * *

As usual, a dozen thoughts rushed through Jennifer's head in a jumble when she woke the following morning. She'd been crying the night before, and her pillow was still damp from the tears, but since she'd reassembled her wits that morning, she knew that there were options for solving all of Mark's problems. After all, the worst of her problems were gone. Mark was back, and he had money; maybe even enough to make them very rich for the rest of their lives. They could buy a house outside of the city, and live together in comfort until they were old and gray, and as for Mark's nonsensical obsession with Hyrule, he'd get over it in time, and if he didn't, she could always take him to see a therapist. She suspected they wouldn't have to worry about the cost.

As Jennifer sat up in bed in her nightgown, however, she looked around casually, and spied something that hadn't been there the night before. On the table by her side of the bed, she saw a bag made of canvas; about the size of a coconut, with a note underneath it. Quickly, she grabbed the bag and tore it open, finding an assortment of the most incredible gemstones she'd ever seen inside of it. Jennifer was so ecstatic at seeing such wealth, that Mark would have probably gotten sick, if he'd seen her selfish expression at that moment. Carefully hiding the bag under her pillow as best she could, though, Jennifer picked up the note and read it through. As she read, her face fell, and she started to regret the delight that she'd felt such a short time before.

* * *

Jennifer,

As I said before, I apologize for not being able to make this any easier on you, but I could have made your life, and the lives of our children much better than any human being deserves, if you'd just let me. The bag on top of this note contains a sum of forty-nine rupees. I obtained it in exchange for less than a week and a half of very modest work, but it should be enough to ensure that you and my children survive for the rest of your lives. It makes me feel miserable to think that survival is the only gift you'll accept from me, because this money can't buy anything fulfilling as long as it remains in human society.

If I tried to stay with you, I'd eventually be driven mad by the common vices of my fellow man. I've seen the light, Jennifer, and I can't live in darkness anymore; at least not for long. I certainly can't spend my life among other humans anymore. I won't torture you with any further descriptions of the wonders I've seen in Hyrule, because I'm scared that if I do, you might start to lose your sanity, just from understanding the truth about ordinary human vices, but as one final courtesy, and as my thanks to you, I promise to do my best to remember you as the ideal person. That's the greatest honor that I can give you in the face of the empty life that you've resigned yourself to.

Don't squander this money, because I won't return to provide more. I take a small comfort in knowing that it will help you survive, even though you can't know what it means to live.

Your husband, Mark Fitzgerald.

* * *

Jennifer's shaking hand dropped the paper onto the bed just a moment later. Mark had truly run off again; maybe forever. He'd left her with a fortune, but he'd left her all the same. In that moment of final realization, Jennifer was filled with sorrow so great, that she lay back in bed for over an hour, unable to summon the will to even sit up.

* * *

In truth, there was nothing difficult about the choice that Mark had to make next. He'd spent less than two weeks among the hylian people, and yet somehow, his entire view of his planet had changed. He'd seen the faults of his people for what they were; the good for the good, and the bad for the bad, and he could tell that Hyrule was not only a better place to live because of their differences from Earth, but for him, it was immeasurably better.

Mark knew that knowing the truth about his civilization, and knowing that he couldn't do anything to change that truth, and worse, knowing that somewhere, there was a world where that truth didn't exist, would lead him to a truly painful life, and probably a very short one as well. It was so painful, in fact, that he knew he couldn't live with other human beings anymore. There are those who say that in the twenty-first century, evil takes the form of the desire to escape from one's problems through distractions. That's probably true, but Hyrule was so much more than a distraction, and the problems that truly needed to be solved in Mark's earthly life were things that he knew he couldn't do anything about; starvation, war, murders, thefts, corruption, bribery, hypocrisy and prejudice. All of those and more were the true enemies of mankind, and Mark was powerless to slay even one of them.

Those enemies were a curse, which was part of Mark's humanity; a part of what his species had become. Maybe if, like himself, Adam and Eve had been brought into a world inhabited by hylians, theirs would have been a brighter future, but Mark saw that his people were incapable of solving their problems; at least for the moment, with or without his help. All that was at stake was the kind of life that he would live from then on.

Of all the things that Mark had missed most about his world while he'd been in Hyrule, one of the biggest had been the companionship of his family. However, he'd heard their responses to his offers, and in just one day, all of his past illusions about his personal life had come crashing down. His family members were human beings; no different from the rest, who live each day with their eyes closed. They lived their lives without true joy; without true peace; forever oppressed by the wealthy, but never realizing it. No human being had ever lived a truly happy life.

Mark's decision wasn't strictly a selfish one. How could it have been? He'd tried to be as generous as possible. Who, he thought, could fault him for the offers he'd made to his loved ones? Who could fault him for not stressing the matter enough? Who, indeed, could fault him for anything, he wondered, as he picked up a magazine off the street, and looked at the cover. For a moment, Mark smiled, as the image of a "man of tomorrow" was revealed across its cover by the light of the morning sun, and after a moment, he'd placed the magazine in his pocket. It was the dream of something better; the one true, human virtue. Still, he was the first man to ever be able to see that dream become something more; the first man to ever have the chance to start over again, in a better world.

Maybe one day, someone would change the course of Mark's world. In his heart, Mark doubted it, but anything was possible. Maybe in the future, earth would begin to solve its problems, or it might have them solved from without by some alien force, but for the time being, Mark couldn't really do anything to bring that time closer. If there was going to be a revolution of morality, he couldn't be the man to start it. He'd be busy starting something else; something with a far brighter future than anything that man had ever dreamed of.

It was with that mixture of sorrow and hope, that Mark entered the park where the teleportation device still blurred the air within it, preparing for his trip home.

* * *

Planting the bomb was the easy part. Timing it just right wasn't as easy. Mark had to go back and forth through the teleporter a few times to get the timing just right, before activating the bomb to destroy the teleporter on Earth, a few moments after he returned to Hyrule. He'd needed to make completely sure that no one would follow him through that device.

As Mark thanked Byrna for her help, and returned to Kakariko for a short rest, he wondered to himself just how he'd changed so much. In the old days, he might have welcomed other humans into that new land; even desired their unique brand of companionship, but suddenly, he saw his fellow man just the same way as the King of Hyrule had seen them. He couldn't allow any other humans or human thoughts to pollute that paradise, and he vowed, just then, that he'd be responsible with his own presence there, and do everything he could to keep from sinning against those people.

Mark reconsidered what he'd done only once or twice after that. With the riches being given to him on that world, he could have bought anything or anyone, after no more than a year on his own planet, but in the end, he didn't want anything that money could buy. All he wanted was to live in Hyrule, among those truly innocent and good people, and be able to be proud and satisfied with being one of them. All he wanted was to be a hyrulian, and that was precisely what he was going to be.

Mark's delivery to the other peoples of Hyrule was a little late, because of his brief detour. The gerudo accepted the goods, but didn't let him inside. The gorons forgave him very quickly for his past behavior, and the shiekah; non-judgmental as ever, accepted him, if anything, even more readily, as he grew to be more and more penitent about his past.

However, Mark's greatest reward was that as he became more like the hylians every day, Ramie never blew up at him again. When they'd talk, after that, she'd often take great pleasure in teaching him more and more of the hylian way, and he'd take even greater pleasure in following through with it. In time, he seemed almost to be imitating her, since both of them were enjoying life so much, that they couldn't imagine it any other way.

* * *

For a while, Byrna had been worried that she'd have to leave before Mark got back, but fortunately, that wasn't the case. Mark spent only one day among his people, and returned the next morning, to thank her for the opportunity to, as he called it "tie up the loose ends of his old life."

Still, the timing was pretty close. Byrna found that she had to leave within an hour for the conflict when Mark had returned. She had no loose ends of her own to tie up, but she wondered whether that was because her life had been satisfying, or because she'd been something of an island. After all, could she really afford to remain detached from other hylians? Since she no longer feared failure too much, what reason did she have for not being comfortable around other people?

Those were a few of the things that Byrna contemplated as she stepped through the teleporter to return to the conflict guest rooms. Her teammates were right in front of her, preparing for battle, just like before, and Byrna felt like she aught to speak with Link or one of the others, but something held her back. Why, she wondered, did she still not feel ready to be anyone's friend?

* * *

For the first time in as long as he could remember, Stalflare woke up before Link. At first, he thought that something must have been wrong with the Hero of Time, but when he asked Link about it, he'd just remarked that considering what they'd been facing, getting some more rest had seemed like a good idea. Both of them talked for a few minutes before Darunia, Ruto and Zelda got up almost simultaneously. Byrna had been the last to arrive, wearing a redesigned armor suit, but she hadn't said anything.

Link had wanted to speak with Byrna at first; to find out what was the matter with her, but Stalflare talked him out of it. Sometimes, he reasoned, there are times when you just don't want to be around other people. That, after all, was part of even the most perfect life.

Because of that, the group was largely silent as they were led by the evil-looking guard to the semifinals, still being held in the same teleport area as always. Opposite them, they could see a very curious-looking group of fighters, though. All of them were dressed in bright colors, usually white, blue, red, and yellow, and many of them wore masks.

The first was a man wearing a lot of blue and purple. He wore a long, red cape, and a helmet made of metal. The second was a boy with long, wild, black hair, and a costume that was all blue, with white, arrow-like symbols all over it. Beside him were two others, both in masks. One was dressed in a striped red and white outfit, the other in a blue outfit covered with white stars. Next to them was a man who seemed to be made of gray stone, dressed in a blue outfit with a yellow cape, gloves and boots, and the last was a man who looked, to Link, almost hylian-like, in terms of his expression and soul. His face wasn't covered by a mask, and he wore an outfit consisting of blue, red and white colors, with yellow boots. He also wore a long cape, and his hands were bare. In addition to that, there was a symbol across the front of his shirt, which looked like an enormous "H" enclosed in a square. Link was absolutely astonished to be faced with people dressed like that. They hardly seemed like warriors at all.

"Zelda, what can you tell me about this group?" Link asked, but Zelda didn't respond. Instinctively, she'd tried to scan their minds before Link had even asked, and as she did so, a look of horror spread over her face, and her eyes became glassy. At last, her pupils weren't moving in the least, and she collapsed to the ground, motionless. Link rushed over to her, and tried to wake her up, but it was no use. Link could only guess that something was wrong with the people opposite them; something so wrong, that a mind-reader like Zelda couldn't even bare it.

"Could they have closed their minds, like the olympians?" Link wondered aloud, trying his best to figure out what was wrong with the princess, but Stalflare was already shaking his head somberly.

"No." Stalflare said in reply, "Even I can tell you that. They're not protecting their minds in any way. It should have been possible for her to read them."

Just then, however, a realization dawned on Link; something that horrified him.

"Maybe she did read their minds." Link suggested in horror, "Maybe she just wasn't ready for what she found there."

Stalflare frowned, as he bent down and passed his hand over the princess' eyes for a moment.

"For whatever reason," the gerudo observed, "She's out cold now, and I can't wake her. We'll have to start the fights without her."

"In that case, I'll go first." Byrna proposed, although her eagerness still worried Link, "I'll be happy to get this done with as quickly as I can."

"Be careful." Link cautioned her, however, "Don't rush into this. The important thing is to win."

"I know what I'm doing." Byrna replied, however, as she stepped up to the platforms, and was met there by the man in the blue and purple outfit, wearing the helmet.

Byrna could see that that man was older than the others, because his eyes seemed to project a depth of experience, which surpassed every other person there, but there was also another level to his expression, as though he'd experienced great danger or great tragedy. Most peculiarly, when he looked at Byrna, there seemed almost to be a glimmer of recognition, as though he believed he'd met her before, but for some reason, was trying to deny it.

"People call me Spectro." the man said, "I suppose we'll be fighting one another. What's your name?"

"I'm Byrna." she replied, "But there's something I'm curious about. You look like you've suffered some horrible tragedy."

"Everyone suffers more than they deserve to." Spectro replied with an edgy shrug, "That's part of life."

"Is it?" Byrna asked, feeling genuinely surprised and upset by that news, "How sad for you."

At first, Spectro's eyes widened, and he looked, for a moment, as though he needed to talk with Byrna a bit more, but he also seemed to realize that talking with her would only make it harder to fight her. Each took a step backward just a moment later, then walked off to the sides, to move reluctantly into the teleport devices. They had misgivings, because neither felt that they were finished talking, but then, that conflict was all about being forced to fight people that the champions might otherwise be friends with, and it was only one of the many things about that tournament that Byrna found truly disgusting.

* * *

Byrna reappeared, a moment later, in what looked like an ancient battlefield. There was no grass around them, dying trees were everywhere, and the ground was strewn with bones and broken weapons. Everywhere, they were surrounded by death. Byrna looked off to the left, and saw that her enemy was standing in mid-air, just a few yards off. Obviously, he had some kind of power, which enabled him to fly, and once she realized that, Byrna quickly turned on her left wrist device, and was bathed in a force barrier, which surrounded her, protecting her from harm. She grinned at that point. The reason she'd been so late to her last fight was that she'd been developing her ultimate weapon. It wasn't the gun that she used to fire energy, though. Her ultimate weapon wasn't nearly as direct as that.

During Byrna's fight with Nemat, she'd been alerted to the fact that many of those fighters commanded large forces of nature. A simple warrior with a few weapons could never hope to compete with that. If Byrna wanted to fight those creatures, she also needed a force of nature on her side, but of course, commanding water, ice or lightning was beyond her power.

Byrna had known that knowledge itself was a type of power for many years. After all, it was what enabled the intelligent species of Hyrule to adapt to their surroundings, and claim victory over difficult situations and obstacles to their survival. For quite some time, Byrna had struggled to create a means that would allow her to adapt more easily to difficult obstacles, and using a melding of water-mill-like motion, and the principles of electricity, as Link had described them, she'd finally managed to modify a color camera, to capture images and statistics of various powers and attacks automatically. Byrna had then attached it to the chest plate of her armor. Maybe, with more time, she could have made it more advanced, but for the moment, it was good enough. It enabled her to more quickly understand the powers and abilities of her enemies, and with her knowledge of science, she could imitate quite a few of them once she got back to her lab and had time for research, if only to a lesser degree. She'd used that power on Athena during her last fight, and from that, had learned the principles of both of her enemy's powers. With her limited resources, she wasn't completely capable of duplicating either the immortality of the goddess, or her wisdom, but she had developed a force field, which could protect her and her armor from numerous forces, and another ability as well.

Pressing another button on her wrist device, a type of electro-magical energy force was released, providing Byrna with a clearer awareness of the things going on around her. It was almost like a higher consciousness, and with that, she knew that she could plan attacks and other maneuvers far more easily.

The first thing that Byrna's new enemy did was try to seize control of her, reaching out with his powers, and looking very surprised that they weren't working against her directly. After a moment, he spoke, though, voicing some of his concern.

"It's rare that I find myself faced by a metal-clad enemy, who I can't simply seize control of. You're an unusual case. I may have to use my powers as other types of weapons for the time being."

As he said that, the unusually-dressed enemy raised both of his hands into the air, and all at once, the metal heads on each of the spears and the blades of the swords strewn across that battlefield rose into the air, and flew at Byrna from all directions at once.

At once, the voice of higher consciousness, which Byrna had built into her armor spoke to her in many words and phrases at once, warning her about the danger attacking from each side in turn, "Look out for the spear. Turn left. Duck. Leap precisely three feet into the air."

One or two of the sharp objects got through and struck Byrna's armor, but they lost some of their momentum on the way through her force barrier, and she was only hit with a couple of grazing blows, which only did superficial damage.

Just as Byrna thought that the attacks were finally coming to an end, however, Spectro raised his hands again, and the metal objects uprooted themselves from where they'd landed, and began their attack once more.

"Oh, great." Byrna thought to herself, trying to dodge the new attacks as best she could, "So this guy controls all metal, everywhere. Wonderful."

Byrna knew that she couldn't just dodge the attacks at that point. It was keeping her alive for the time being, but she wasn't making any headway against her enemy. Quickly, activating her energy blaster, Byrna started firing, while dodging the attacks at the same time. She was able to vaporize five of the projectiles as they came at her, another four that collided with her, and fifteen more once they missed her and fell to the ground. Plenty more metal projectiles still remained, but Spectro had seen what Byrna's weapon had done to them. Certainly, he could continue the attack, but the fewer weapons he had, the better chance she had of hitting him with one of those beams. He must have realized that if he kept up the attack that way, he wasn't going to get anything accomplished.

Opening his hands in front of him, as though holding a basketball in them, Spectro's body began to glow, and a laser field materialized around him, more powerful than any laser field that Byrna had ever seen. It surrounded his body, protecting him from any stray beams that she may have wished to fire in his direction. However, for the moment, she couldn't worry about Spectro's field, because his projectiles were headed back in for another attack.

Byrna leapt sideways, and fired off a series of beams behind her, at the pursuing weapons, vaporizing most of them. The remainder of them seemed to almost pounce on her, colliding sharply with her armor, and putting small cracks in it, however. She felt her camera taking a picture of the flying weapons, as though trying desperately to determine what made them move, but there wasn't anything that Byrna could do about that for the moment. She felt a few droplets of blood appear on the skin of her arms and chest, through the cracks in her armor, small though they were, but they were mere flesh wounds by themselves, and she'd swiftly counterattacked, vaporizing the remaining projectiles, then struggling to her feet.

"That's nothing." Byrna gasped, as she stumbled forward, closer to her enemy, "I've gotten beat up a lot worse than that."

"Indeed?" Spectro asked, looking fascinated, but still almost worried, "You're an impressive fighter. I think it's distasteful to cause you too much suffering, so I'll end the fight as quickly as I can."

At the time, Byrna thought very little of that comment. All hylians, after all, would have felt the same way. However, Spectro seemed to stress it, as though he saw suffering itself as an enemy.

With his energy field in place, Spectro seemed to be molding light in front of him, and suddenly, beams of searing heat flew forth from his palms, and Byrna was driven back immediately. She leapt back and forth, dodging all the beams she could, though she had a few close scrapes. However, through it all, the device responsible for her higher consciousness guided her back and forth. Then, suddenly, out of those hundred voices, guiding her in all different directions, one rang out more clearly than the others, with a word that, to her, made very little sense.

"Sam."

"Sam?" Byrna asked aloud, puzzled, and worried that her device had been broken during that last attack, "What in Hyrule is Sam?"

Byrna had barely even said those words loud enough to be heard three yards away, but somehow, Spectro seemed to have heard them. His face had gone white, and he'd stopped attacking. He looked as though he'd lost his concentration completely, and even his protective field seemed to be dwindling.

Taking advantage of Spectro's momentary lapse, Byrna fired her energy projectiles at her enemy again, but unfortunately for her, at the last moment, Spectro seemed to snap back to reality, and ducked off to one side, dodging her blast.

At once, his powers were back up and running, and twice as many lasers as before scorched the air around Byrna's position. Spectro screamed at her angrily, as though she'd just done something to offend him on a very personal level.

"It's not possible! No! People can't just be... They can't just... They..."

However, sensing that her enemy was feeling disoriented, Byrna twisted sideways, and slid towards him. By that point, though, it was too late, as his laser field came back up. Her own protective barrier was just enough to keep it from melting off her fingertips, just before Spectro rose high into the air again, and started shaking his head, as though trying hard to focus. It didn't completely look as if he'd succeeded in focusing, but regardless, he seemed to have made a decision of enormous importance a few moments later, and flew directly towards Byrna, lasers shining out from his hands, and melting the ground at her feet to slag, as she struggled to move faster than him. He continued to fly steadily towards her, and she could feel the heat of the laser field surrounding him. It was definitely starting to have its effect on her armor, and she knew that she had to do something.

For a while, Byrna had had an idea which, at first, she'd found distasteful, but at the moment, she had very little choice. Lifting one of the armored skeletons at her feet, Byrna hurled it directly at her foe, and watched as the metal and bone of the skeleton melted, and were repelled by the laser field. She could see the molten remains sliding slowly off the energy field, and knew that unless he had some power to see through solid objects, the red hot remains were blocking Spectro's line of sight completely.

When the slag that remained of the warrior's skeleton had slid downward, and was no longer blocking Spectro's eyesight, he looked around, clearly searching for his enemy. Byrna was missing. He couldn't see her anywhere anymore.

The armored warrior, in fact, had hidden behind a large pile of weapons and pieces of armor, watching her enemy carefully. Maybe, she thought, with some time, she could wear down his field with her weapons, but she needed some kind of defense from his attacks while she did that. Still, she did have one advantage. Thanks to her voices of wisdom, Byrna could tell exactly where he was, without even having to look at him directly. Spectro didn't have that ability, apparently, which meant that he had to see her with his eyes. All she had to do was think of a way to use that advantage as a defense.

* * *

Spectro, meanwhile, was still looking around. In another situation, he might have started melting things left and right, but he just didn't want to slay that enemy. He'd been struck by her appearance when they first met, and how, he wondered, had she known about Sam? More to the point, how much did she know? No. He couldn't simply kill her. There was too much that he needed to find out from that woman.

Spectro knew, however, of one way to increase his own line of sight. Using electro-magnetic impulses, he grabbed hold of the fibers in every part of his body, and propelled himself further upward, higher and higher into the air, continuing to look downward as he did so, and it was then that he saw her again, and realized his mistake. In his struggle to find Byrna, Spectro had not only made himself a very obvious target, but it would take him a while reach her too. Still, he had to strike as best he could. Spectro watched the blasts of energy fly from Byrna's weapon, and fizzle against his field, but he could see that its power was weakening. He struggled quickly to shape the light spectrum around the shield again, reinforcing it, but even as he did so, he was just too distracted, and was only just barely able to avoid a collision with the ground. Because of that, fires were started in some small patches of grass nearby, and a few piles of armor and bones were reduced to molten lava around him.

More importantly, Byrna was able to get out of his way in time, and continued to fire on him from behind, as Spectro struggled to right himself. He was too distracted, though. That fight was too personal. As much as he might wish that he could have fought her at his full power, how could he? He'd never been a champion of a country or nation. He'd only rarely been motivated to preach anything to the people of the Earth. He wasn't like the others on his team. His only reason for wanting to better mankind had always been a strictly personal one. How, he wondered, could he fight someone who so closely represented his very living, breathing motivation; a motivation that shouldn't have been breathing at all?

* * *

Byrna could see the conflict going on in Spectro's expression, as she attempted to search her voices of wisdom for advice on what move to make next. At last, however, she heard the words "a hole," and understood just what that meant. Spinning around, she fired off her weapons at the ground behind her, vaporizing thousands of pounds of soil, and leapt forward into the hole she'd made just in time. In mere moments, there was an explosion of light and heat, which shot by, right over her head, as Spectro's powers tore through the air above her. He'd just lashed out with pure force; no technique at all, and once again, it hadn't worked. Byrna's makeshift foxhole had saved her, and only the surface of the metal plate on her back had been the least bit softened by the attack.

However, as the fight continued, Byrna discovered that she was really more confused than anything else. She couldn't imagine why Spectro had resorted to a move like that, where so many things could have gone wrong. After all, he could have just rammed her with his field activated, or created a laser cage around her, once he'd spotted her. It was possible that he might have needed to get closer to pull off maneuvers like those, but she couldn't imagine why he'd be so hesitant to fight her up close. After all, he'd already proven that his laser field was strong enough to withstand her weapons.

Byrna could tell that Spectro's field was no longer as impenetrable as it had been. The lasers with which he'd been attacking were almost completely gone. He was becoming exhausted; not physically, but emotionally and mentally. Something about fighting Byrna was wearing on his psyche, and he was losing the focus that he needed to maintain control of his powers.

Swiftly, Byrna flew up from the hole, and rushed at her enemy with a determined look in her eye, firing off her weapon repeatedly. Spectro was able to block most of her attacks with laser barriers, but was still totally unprepared when she collided with him head-on, and both were sent sprawling to the ground. Byrna got up just a moment later, but Spectro didn't.

"This is almost embarrassing." Byrna remarked, looking down at her enemy, "You shouldn't have agreed to fight me if you couldn't attack with everything you've got. I'm disappointed."

"No." Spectro stammered, caught in the grip of what looked, to Byrna, like paralyzing fear, "Don't say that. Don't say that, Samantha. I never wanted to disappoint you."

However, realizing that something was truly wrong with her enemy, Byrna grabbed Spectro by the shirt, and lifted him into the air, sputtering "I'm Byrna. I don't even know who Samantha is. Get a hold of yourself."

Spectro seemed, at that moment, to regain some additional sense of self, and wrenched himself loose from her grasp. For a moment, the two stood facing one another, neither daring to attack the other. Then, Spectro collapsed to the ground again. Just as Byrna was worried that he was going to go back into hysterics, however, he spoke, with a lot of nervousness in his voice, though at least he didn't sound terrified anymore.

"Samantha Andrews. I... Well, I suppose we were inseparable. The armor is new, and the ears are longer, but in every other respect, you could be her twin."

It was only then that Byrna began to realize just what kind of person her enemy was. She realized why he'd reacted so oddly, when she'd said the word "Sam," and she knew that she had to know more about her apparent counterpart from his world.

"Can you tell me anything about Samantha?" Byrna asked, although when she received no reply, she added, "If it's too painful, just say no."

Spectro swallowed hard, however, and was careful not to look at her a moment later, when he spoke again, with tears in his eyes.

"When I was very young, my parents and I heard of a recently-founded town; a new experiment in legal policy known as Treyville. Treyville was founded for the purpose of being a place where no one had to suffer; a secluded place, where people could be happy; self-sufficient in every way, and protected from the horrors of the outside world. It grew its own food, refined its own medicine, suffered from no real administrators to speak of, and its people were all required to swear an oath of peace, above any other obligations. No one was permitted to attack or oppress anyone else in that town, or they'd have been forced to leave. I spent years living there, and as it turns out, it was a luckier place than most. For a while, it had no selfishness, no hate, and no oppression. It was a town for dreamers to live in, unhindered by the mistakes or malice of their fellow man. It took a lot of work to abide by the rules of the place, but I think it was worth it. After less than a month in Treyville, I already knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life there. After my thirteenth month there, I met Samantha, who'd just moved in nearby, and I knew I could never leave, even if I wanted to. What we had was really amazing. Samantha and I grew up together, enjoying so many of the same things, going to many of the same places, and yet, always having just enough differing opinions that our discussions could be interesting to outside parties. Samantha was the yin to my yang. They say there's someone for everyone. Well, she was for me. We lived together in that little town until I was twenty, and she was nineteen."

Spectro swallowed hard again, as he released his next sentence, however, like a lion from a cage.

"Then war broke out, and entire countries were conquered and enslaved. Whole armies of men marched over our peaceful, perfect little town, and we were all taken prisoner; condemned just because we weren't what the powerful in our country wanted us to be; we weren't part of their regime. We were taken to cruel, torturous prisons, and most of us were executed. For a few months, Samantha and I were together, and when the rest of my family was killed, she was my only comfort. Then they found out, and..."

Spectro swallowed a third time at that point, choking back tears, but soon, he continued, looking even grimmer than ever.

"Samantha never hurt anyone. She believed in goodness and justice, and she didn't deserve a fate like that. To this day, I still feel the pain of that moment whenever I try to be happy, because happiness only reminds me of Samantha, and Samantha reminds me of sorrow."

"When the war was over, most of the remaining prisoners were freed, as a gesture of 'goodwill.' I wasn't among them, though. I was in that prison for four years, and it was only at the end of all that time, that I was able to ignore the screams and focus. When I learned to focus, I learned of my power."

"You broke free." Byrna guessed correctly.

"And I took with me all those that remained in that cursed complex, and still believed in goodness." Spectro replied, "All the indomitable spirits, like Samantha herself."

Then, Spectro looked up into Byrna's eyes, and Byrna could see a mix of hope and horror in them, when he said his next words.

"At first, I thought I could fight you. I thought that I could use my powers to bury your face in the dirt, just as I've buried many tyrants and manipulators, since I discovered my abilities, but I can't. You're too much like her. Even your spirits are identical. I can't smash the very image of everything that's always driven me to continue trying to shape mankind into something good. Even your soul is as pure as hers. I can sense that. I imagine that with the wish at the end of this conflict, I could restore your life, but I couldn't resurrect my own soul. I surrender."

* * *

Just like that, they were back in the teleport area. Neither of them felt any regret over the choices they'd made, and the things they'd done, and yet, neither really felt fulfilled either. Spectro was glared at by a few members of his team, and knew that his membership in their team might be forfeit after that. He might even be arrested, or accused of treason, but none of that mattered to him. He'd done the only thing that he could have.

Byrna, on the other hand, felt a mixture of relief and disappointment. She was glad to not have to fight him anymore, but she was also somewhat annoyed that she'd been given two very simple fights in a row, neither of which had been carried to its ultimate conclusion.

"Still, I wonder if that's how Link wins all the time." Byrna thought to herself as she returned to where the rest of her team was standing, "Does he simplify his fights deliberately, to claim victory over more powerful enemies?"

Byrna was still deep in thought, saying nothing at all, when she sat down next to her team, her thoughts consumed not only by the nature of her fights, but by the fate of her doppelganger in the other world. She needed time to process that information; time that her team was only too willing to give her.

"Well," Darunia said a moment later, stepping forward, "if there aren't any objections, I think I'll take the next one."

"That's probably for the best," Link said. He'd still been completely unable to rouse Zelda, but he suspected that Byrna might be able to fight another of them if she absolutely had to. Zelda continued to lay on the area floor, her eyes glassy, and her mouth hanging open. She showed no sign of recognition. If not for her strong heartbeat, in fact, Link might have even mistaken her for someone who'd just died.

Naturally, the fighter who the other team chose to send against Darunia was their stone warrior with the yellow cape. He seemed a bit concerned by Darunia's hammer, but not to the point of being afraid. As he got closer, in fact, Darunia could see that a bright orange glow pulsed from underneath his rocky eyelids, and he had a beatiful, golden ring, with a sky blue gem attached to it on the fourth finger of his right hand. It was somewhat hard to decipher his expression under the rough, rocky surface of his skin, but Darunia could identify some level of discontent there.

"I'm Darunia, big boss of all the gorons." Darunia said, extending his hand in a friendly manner, "What's your name?"

"Chawk," the enemy stone man said, "and if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to finish this as quickly as possible."

Darunia held both hands up when Chawk made that suggestion, to insure that he understood precisely how his opponent felt, and in moments, the two had stepped through the teleporters, to a most unfortunate location.

* * *

Of all the places they could have fought, a rocky platform of only about twenty-five yards across, in the middle of a vast ocean was one of the last that Darunia would have picked. Still, he couldn't afford to get choosy. Their locations weren't chosen, as far as he knew, with malicious intent. However, all that water was a Goron's worst enemy, and he suspected that even Chawk was more than a little disconcerted by its presence.

There were storm clouds on the horizon, and a small stake, tied to a thick set of wires, apparently for tying some kind of fishing boat to shore, but Darunia paid little attention to his other surroundings. He'd raised both hands in front of him, and over his head for a moment, and was carefully maneuvering himself, staying precisely parallel to his enemy, who'd adopted a similar technique.

"Why do you want to win this thing?" Chawk asked, as they stepped back and forth across from one another, "Do you have some philosophy, or something that makes you the better man to win?"

"Gorons don't trouble too much with philosophies." Darunia replied, taking a few steps to the left, and one or two forward, "We don't live our lives based on that. We just love to have fun."

By that time, the two were nearing one another, examining each other more closely, to try to find a weak point, but neither was making much headway.

"So all you do is play games?" Chawk asked, "There's no way you deserve to face this enemy more than us."

"What about you?" Darunia asked, "What kind of games do your people play? How do they add happiness to their lives?"

However, in just a moment, the two collided with one another, and their solid stone fists ground against each other hard. Still, Chawk looked determined to respond to Darunia's question, even though the fight had gotten underway.

"My people don't have to play silly games all day." Chawk gasped out, "We behave with responsibility and dignity. We conduct ourselves with pride and care."

"Maybe, but what do you do when you lose a loved one?" Darunia asked, struggling against Chawk with all his might, "How do you sooth the pain?"

Suddenly, Darunia could have sworn that Chawk's face had turned a shade whiter, and the strength of his enemy seemed to almost be draining away. Chawk had been distressed by what Darunia had just said, and he was making mistakes.

Darunia took advantage immediately, and shoved his weakened enemy back three yards, where he collapsed to the ground, but had righted himself almost at once.

"I can read the truth in your eyes." Darunia said, after catching his breath, "You don't play any games during sad times. All you do is brood, and take pride in your brooding, then wonder why no one's really happy."

A horrible rage came over Chawk's face at that point, and he charged forward, but he was almost too angry to see straight, and that was no state to fight in. Ducking back away from his blow, Darunia's leg shot out, tripping up Chawk, and sending him sprawling nearly six more yards.

The sky began to darken, as Darunia said calmly, "You must have lost some very dear people for my words to inspire such hate in youuuumph!"

Darunia was thrown back a distance of nearly ten yards, at that point, by a blast of blazing heat, which had flown forth from Chawk's eyes. When he finally got his bearings again, he could tell that the rocky skin protecting his chest was softening. Another blast like that, and he might start to melt, and it sure didn't look like Chawk was going to hold off on that attack anymore.

"You don't know anything about me!" Chawk exclaimed like a little child, his eyes still shining bright yellow from the power within them, "Don't act like you do!"

Darunia saw, at once, that it would be a bad idea to waste too many more words with that enemy. They both had just about equal strength and endurance, but obviously, he'd need to use his other powers to beat Chawk in a fight.

Darunia tightened both of his fists, and rolled up into a ball, charging right at Chawk, who apparently, couldn't do that. Chawk fired a few more blasts with his blazing eye-beams, but Darunia ducked easily back and forth, dodging them before colliding with his enemy head-on. Unrolling just at that moment, Darunia's fists burst into flame, as he struck out at his foe with all his might.

However, Darunia's flaming punches only melted part of the platform's stone surface, because Chawk had somehow rocketed directly upward, out of Darunia's grasp. It took the goron a few seconds to get back up, and in that time, another heat beam had seared his back. Swiftly, he spun around, dodging a third attack by the beams, and saw yet another unwelcome sight. The gem on Chawk's ring was glowing brightly, and he was hanging in mid-air, out of reach of Darunia, his eyes still glowing.

In the old days, Darunia might have panicked over that alone. He might have given up, or at best, struggled on blindly, but his training with Ruto had been sufficient to abolish such behaviors. At that point, he saw Chawk's full powers, and he thought to himself, "Darn. This makes it harder. I'll have to get creative now."

It was a thought that represented disappointment, but not, by any means, surrender.

Ducking and weaving off to one side, Darunia got out of the way of two more searing bolts, and whipped out his megaton hammers again. With all the speed he could muster, he slammed them against the platform with incredible force, causing the stone to splinter in all directions, jutting up and down into spikes of grey rock, which began to drift as the sea rushed in to fill the gap. Chawk seemed to see what Darunia had done as nothing more than sealing his own fate, though. Tearing up the platform wouldn't be dangerous to Chawk, after all; only to Darunia.

However, Darunia wasn't finished. Rolling up into a ball, the goron boss zipped forward, rolling off one of the newly-created inclines, directly towards his foe. Chawk gasped, and barely had time to move a few feet off to one side, but was no more than a foot away from Darunia when he passed by. Moments later, the goron fighter plunged back down again, plummeting no more than an inch off the side of one of the platforms.

Chawk grinned at that point. The attack had been a surprise, but no harm had really been done. He floated down carefully, towards the spot where Darunia had fallen over the edge, and peered over the side for a moment, to make sure of his victory.

However, there was Darunia, curled up into a ball, clinging to the side of the stone platform by a series of spikes, which were protruding from his skin. Chawk moved back as fast as he could, but it wasn't fast enough, as Darunia leapt upward, and delivered a kick to his face with both feet. That time, however, instead of trying to finish Chawk off with his hammer, Darunia hesitated a few inches from his enemy. Chawk was on his feet again in an instant, and up in the air a second later, though, his eyes glowing even brighter than ever.

"This time, no more games!" Chawk called out furiously, "I'm going to melt you, and all the platforms in this area!"

Higher and higher he rose, into fierce storm clouds, as the sounds of thunder flew through the horizon, when suddenly, there was a loud clap, and a bolt of lightening sizzled directly into Chawk's body, breaking apart pieces of his stony chest.

Chawk screamed as he plummeted downward. The lightning had shorted out the antigravity ring that he'd been using to fly. Besides, as high up as he was, whether he hit stone or water, there was no way that he could win anymore.

Fortunately, Chawk landed on one of the many stone platforms created by Darunia moments before. The impact of his body on the stone was like a meteor, and he coughed and sputtered, unable to get a decent breath, but determined to know what, exactly, had happened.

"What? How? Lightning can't hit things in mid-air!"

Then, however, Chawk saw his foot, and realized what had happened to him.

Tied to his foot was the bit of wiring, which had been attached to the stake at the start of the fight. Darunia had used it to connect his body to the ground as he rose up, by wrapping it around his foot when they were close. Chawk was amazed and horrified, because he'd seen that brief moment as mere hesitation.

* * *

In moments, they'd both returned to the teleport area, but Darunia wasn't finished. Walking over to the sprawled-out form of Chawk, he made one last observation.

"You really have lost someone dear to you."

Chawk paused for a moment, doing his best to ignore the pain in his limbs. He'd only been beaten once before that, and the dent that placed in his arrogance was enough to make him feel ready to tell his foe almost anything. Not much seemed to matter to him anymore. After a couple of moments, he coughed and muttered, "I once had a girlfriend. She was killed by falling masonry, in a fight that the champions of my universe had, with a menace named Unival. Hyper could have saved her life, but they would have had to let Unival escape."

"I'm surprised you joined them." Darunia noted, but the look on Chawk's face at that moment clearly indicated that the goron boss didn't have the whole story.

"I didn't at first." Chawk replied, as he began to lose consciousness from the pain, "I tried to... destroy..."

However, by that point, Chawk had started to pass out, and after taking only a couple of moments to feel sorry for his tragic foe, Darunia carried Chawk over to the rest of his team, then looked at the four enemy fighters who remained.

"Which one of you is Hyper?" Darunia asked firmly.

The man with the long cape and yellow boots stepped forward immediately, however, and said, "I am."

"You're fighting next." Darunia insisted, his anger obvious by that point, "Or else, I'll never be able to live with myself. Saving lives is much more important than catching a villain."

With that last, parting shot, Darunia returned to his team, and was pleased to see that Hyper; their apparent leader, was indeed stepping forth.

"I'll take him," Ruto suggested, as Darunia walked past her, "unless you'd rather do it, Stalflare."

"You can go ahead." Stalflare replied just as quickly, raising one eyebrow, "I have no desire to fight this one. His behavior seems decent enough."

Quickly, Ruto stepped forward, and after only a moment, she introduced herself to her new enemy.

"I'm Ruto; former zora princess."

"I'm Hyper;" The man opposite her said, "leader of the Freedom Brigade, and advocate of truth and justice."

"Truth and justice?" Ruto asked, looking surprised, "After what you let happen to his girlfriend?"

Hyper was silent for a moment, but at last, he spoke again, saying, "You have to understand; sometimes, sacrifices have to be made. Unival was a galactic menace, who could have killed millions if he'd been allowed to escape."

Ruto still scowled when she replied a moment later, however.

"I doubt that explanation made her family feel any better."

Sensing that he wasn't going to convince Ruto of his side of the issue, Hyper stepped into the teleport pad and vanished, and after just a few moments of reflection, Ruto did the same.

* * *

When she reappeared, Ruto found herself on top of a building, which was taller than any mountain she'd ever seen. Her enemy was standing nearby, but he was standing beyond the edge of the building in mid-air. Ruto could see that she and the building she was standing on were on an island, several miles across, and that it was covered with smaller buildings, though many were still quite enormous. She could also see that her foe was intent on winning that battle quickly, and was zipping forward through the air towards her.

Ruto ducked as fast as she could, and delivered a kick to his jaw, but she could tell that he barely even felt it. That foe, she realized in dismay, was just as strong as Zeus had been, physically, which meant that she needed to take that fight to the water beyond the island if she really wanted a victory.

Hyper, meanwhile, had grabbed one of her feet, and flung her by it over a mile to the east. It was mostly good luck that saved her, because she was able to grab an antenna on one of the buildings that passed by underneath her, and a flagpole after that, and although both snapped almost instantly, they slowed her fall enough, that when she landed on the streets below, she didn't receive any serious injuries; just a few nasty bumps. At the very least, nothing was broken.

However, almost at once, Hyper came flying towards her again, faster than any projectile, and she had to literally bend over backwards to dodge his first punch. When she got back up, however, he'd zipped around in front of her again, and was delivering about five blows every second. Ruto had to leap upward to avoid them, to which he responded by soaring up after her, and being nowhere near as maneuverable in mid-air, she had only one option left to her at that point.

Shoving out both feet, and before Hyper saw what she had planned, Ruto kicked off from his chest, and hopped with enormous leaps from one wall to the next, until she reached the harbor, with her enemy in close pursuit.

However, something held Ruto back from the water's edge. There was no life in the water, or at least, very little. The sight, the scent, and the very shape of the waves was all wrong. As soon as she realized what the problem was, a wave of disgust pulsed through her, sending shivers up and down her spine.

The entire harbor was full of garbage, filth and rotted food and drink products. All of the clean water had been buried under that garbage. Swiftly, Ruto dove off to one side, and hid behind a building, but Hyper was soon after her again, throwing powerful kicks from the air, and she was only able to escape them by using her magic to cover herself in black, slippery squid-like ink, thus causing most of his blows to slip aside when they hit her, and blunting their impact.

Still, it had become obvious that Hyper could sense where she was without using his eyes, or else, he could see through solid objects, so Ruto knew that she had to make a choice. She could try to fend for herself in that filthy water, or face that invincible opponent at less than half of her full strength. She could hardly tell which choice was less appealing, though.

However, after a few minutes of arguing with herself, Ruto eventually decided that the devil she knew was the better choice, so leaping over her opponent, she kicked off against the back of his neck, and dove into the harbor.

Almost the very moment that Ruto hit the water, she began to sense a strong, psychokinetic force, turning the surface of the water behind her to ice. Hyper was using some kind of cold-based power against her at that point, trying to entrap her in an icy tomb. What was worse, though, was that the water around her was so filthy, that Ruto could only barely breathe.

Nevertheless, there was a bright side to the situation. Ruto could feel that although the filthy water wasn't as good for her as clean water, its contact with her skin was still restoring her strength. She didn't know if it would be enough to hurt Hyper, or even penetrate his skin, but it was the best, for the moment, that she was going to get.

Wielding her fists quickly, Ruto began to punch the ice over her head, until she'd started to crack it. She could sense the presence of the massive energies that her enemy was using, so she knew where he was. Diving back downward, and using her legs like propellers again, Ruto swam in an almost perfect circle, building up speed, as the water above her began to spin, making small cracks in the already-thin ice. At last, sensing the presence of her enemy, Ruto zipped upward, and crashed through the thinning sheet of ice, leaping from the water like a dolphin, and grabbing her enemy in both arms, too fast for even him to dodge. In mere moments, both of them were underwater again, and the zora champion was punching Hyper as fast as she could.

Ruto could tell that he was starting to feel her blows, but he was still stronger than her, and faster too. Without a purer source of water, they'd probably be deadlocked, even if she used all of her skills.

The two powerful warriors fought underwater; Ruto sometimes dodging a blast of heat from his palms, or a freezing attack that came from his fingertips, but she could tell almost at once that he wasn't going to drown, because he didn't seem to be breathing.

"How can you claim to stand for justice, but let innocent people die?" Ruto demanded during a short break in the fighting, "Who or what gave you the right to boast about convictions that you can't back up? Link fights for justice, but he doesn't brag about it. He's explained his philosophies to his enemies, but to announce them to everyone? You're a proud man, but you're not infallible enough to deserve it."

"No man is infallible." Hyper replied with a stern expression, his voice carrying just as well as Ruto's underwater, "I only make the choices that I think are right and just. That's all any man can do, and it's something people should be inspired towards."

"Is that why you agreed to these fights?" Ruto asked, "Why you didn't trust that this situation would resolve itself? Is it because you really mistook your team for the best there was; because you were proud of your great power?"

That seemed to have pushed the right button. Hyper began to slow down, and Ruto pegged him with a punch right in the nose, knocking him back. At that point, however, Hyper was giving in to an anger that he'd apparently never dared to show to the public.

Hyper kicked Ruto in the chest as hard as he could, breaking three of her ribs, but she could feel them starting to heal even as they broke. She responded to the attack by ducking, and trying with all her might to make the water work for her. She'd done it at the party in Hyrule, and she'd done it against Zeus. Somehow, she knew that if she wanted to win, she had to find the strength to change the course of that once-mighty river.

Suddenly, though, an idea formed in Ruto's head. With her powers, she could change the motions of water flows to a small degree, and her powers had only been growing stronger as time had gone on. Maybe, with a bit of creativity.

Struggling with all her power, Ruto began trying to shape the pure water around her fist. The water moved sluggishly at first, because it was weighed down by all the dirt, but soon, it began to vibrate in a single direction, forcing the foreign material; the dirt and garbage, further and further away from Ruto. As the water around her began to purify, forcing the dirt out, she felt her full strength returning, and even her other powers continued to increase enormously. That was the first time she'd ever used her powers to freshen a water supply, and she found that it was making her even more powerful than ever. Her very awareness seemed to be increasing. Not only could she detect the very nature of the entire body of water that she inhabited by that point, but she knew where all the dirt was coming from.

All over the city, people gasped in horror, as waves larger than any they'd ever seen washed hundreds of tons of pollutants, chemicals, dirt and garbage into the shores and docks, burying many seaside buildings completely. The water beyond, the harbors and rivers around Manhattan shone with a purity that they hadn't seen for over two hundred years. The water was clean, and the filth that had once infected it; chemicals, dirt, and even germs, had all been washed back to the place it had come from.

Hyper was horrified. His sensitive ears picked out with terrible ease the screams of a hundred people who'd been buried in the garbage. At once, he rushed at Ruto, clenching both fists, but by that point, she was truly in her element, and just as strong as him. Grabbing one of his fists as it flew towards her, she delivered a sharp, cutting blow to his arm at the elbow, and was satisfied to feel something break under her fist. As he attempted a counterattack with his other arm, she reached out and grabbed him by the emblem on his chest, and threw him over her head, then pounced on him with both legs, and watched him shrink back, clutching his stomach with his one good arm. Ruto could sense that he was healing well, however.

"That's the reason why you can never really be a champion of good." Ruto explained, as she floated up to her enemy, "You're a warrior at heart. It's painful to you to see a fighter get away with doing something you see as horrible, even if a greater good might be served by it. With your great speed, you could have saved all those people quite easily and quickly, but you chose to attack me instead. Where do you really have your priorities, Hyper? Justice or glory?"

"You're... the same... way..." Hyper gasped out, focusing his psychokinetic energy on healing his wounds as he spoke, "You're lording it over me while all those people die."

"Am I?" Ruto asked, in a tone of derision, "Comparing me to you is definitely a horrible insult, but if you really want to see the difference between us, just look up."

A moment later, Hyper did look up, and there, he saw a sight that very nearly broke his heart. The "villain" who'd struck out against the city just moments before had, while she'd been dealing with him, reshaped the harbor waters again. Enormous tentacles made of water had plucked the contaminated humans from under the piles of dirt, and were spinning them around with enormous speed, rubbing off the filth, spitting it back onto the docks, then depositing the innocent people back on land, apparently further inland, and out of reach of the massive piles of garbage.

"If you'd defeated me with that last attack," Ruto said, "We both would have wound up back in the teleport area, and you would have had to remain there until the rest of your team finished their battles. How would that have helped those people? So, you tell me; which of us will help people more with their victory?"

Hyper was much too stunned to reply, or even to defend himself as Ruto delivered one last, invincible punch, finishing the fight for good.

* * *

Both combatants were dripping wet, as Ruto lifted Hyper to his feet, his strange powers healing him already, but it was obvious that Hyper had more to worry him than a little water.

"Those people..." Hyper gasped, causing water to spill from his mouth and nose with every word he spoke.

"A little soggy, but they'll survive." Ruto explained, "If I can get dirt and germs out of water, I can get it out of a person's body, and it's no more than they deserve for the treatment they gave to that poor ocean, and everything living in it."

"But... the city..."

"You're really that worried about the city?" Ruto asked, feeling just a little surprised by that, "They'll find some way to get rid of all the garbage eventually, and who knows? They might even handle it right this time. I think things probably worked out about as well as they could have."

Hyper didn't know what else to say to that, so Ruto guided him back in the direction of his team, then rejoined hers a moment later.

"Those are the kinds of 'heroes' we can all do without." Ruto observed silently, once she was back among her own team, "Doing nothing, as their whole world decays around them."

However, it seemed as if Ruto's feats, during her most recent fight had really gotten the attention of her teammates; especially Byrna, who looked about ready to shout in amazement over what she'd just seen. Quickly, Byrna rushed up to Ruto, looking at her in awe, and yet, it was several seconds before she said a word to her teammate.

"Wow!" Byrna finally exclaimed, once she'd gotten over her obvious shock, "That was amazing! I mean, I knew you had skills other zoras didn't have, but wow! I had no idea! How long have you known you could control that much water that fast?"

Ruto just smiled, however, as she replied, "About a minute and a half now. Who's up next?"

Byrna wasn't about to volunteer for another battle just yet, but for the first time in a while, she found herself truly admiring someone else for just how far they'd come, and how much progress they'd made. In fact, Byrna was almost starting to envy the former princess Ruto.

"I'm next." Stalflare replied to Ruto's question, stepping forward in just a moment. Opposite him came the teenage boy, dressed in the red and white striped outfit, and wearing a bright red mask.

"I'm Stripe." the boy said, and a sneer came across his face as he watched Stalflare approach the teleport platform, "I've seen you fight before, sorcerer, when you fought that genie. You're not bad. I might even get a decent workout."

He said those things with a strange accent, which Stalflare had never heard before, and that made it a bit difficult to understand him. Stalflare had to struggle to figure out what he was saying, but he managed.

"I'm Stalflare." the gerudo warrior replied after a few moments, "I've been too busy training to watch anyone else fight, and you should have done the same."

"We'll see about that." Stripe replied, and a moment later, the two stepped onto their respective platforms, and moved instantly to their new battle location.

* * *

Stripe and Stalflare began in the middle of a park of some sort, but it seemed to have gone through a good deal of punishment recently. There were two circular, marble basins containing water, at least one of which had been a fountain once, but both were cracked and shattered in so many places, that it was almost impossible to tell. Around them was a grassy field, with patches of scattered brown, and several trees were placed through the park as well, but the trees bore the same signs of terrible punishment that the fountains had. On the trees, there were burn marks, broken branches, gaping holes, and a couple had even been splintered clean down the middle, and collided with the ground.

Stalflare stamped his staff against that ground a few times, as he prepared to do battle.

"Do you want to attack first, or should I?" Stripe asked, before the fight could even begin, drawing a frown from the winged gerudo.

"Arrogance ill-becomes you." Stalflare remarked, "You'll soon discover that I can strike with greater force than you might suspect."

"Meh." Stripe just muttered callously, rubbing his temples, which gave Stalflare the impression that Stripe's powers would turn out to be psychic in nature. Stalflare was a little worried by that. He had some resistances to mental, psionic attacks, but he wasn't very good at reading minds. That was the sort of thing that he'd always left in the hands of Princess Zelda.

However, it seemed that Stripe had no intention of trying to read Stalflare's mind, or change his perceptions in any way. In fact, he was simply standing right there, doing absolutely nothing, and seeming to relax, as though preparing to fall asleep, except with a more blissful look on his face. In fact, he looked so frustratingly smug, that for a moment, Stalflare was quite convinced that it was his solemn duty to annihilate Stripe's smirk, if nothing else.

Channeling much of his power into the head of his staff, Stalflare shot an orb of blazing fire out at Stripe's face, and was more than a little surprised when his attack bent around his enemy's body in a circle, as though it had been deflected by an invisible shield of some kind.

Stripe just grinned even more, however, as he stuck out one hand, and suddenly, dust was kicked up between the two fighters, moving in a straight line between them, as though some kind of invisible horse were galloping full-tilt at Stalflare. The gerudo leapt into the air to avoid the invisible attack, but was hit by the edge of it, regardless, and received a blow to the knee for his troubles. It hurt quite a lot, but it was clearly not going to be fatal, at least.

Hoping that his next attack would be able to locate some new kind of weakness, Stalflare zipped forward, towards his enemy, and fired off a few more blasts of flame and ice from both his left hand, and the tip of his staff, but they, not surprisingly, stopped before they could even reach his enemy, and died down moments later, fizzling in mid-air. The worst part was that it was plain that Stripe wasn't even using his full powers. He continued to pile more and more power into his shield to keep it up, but he didn't look the least bit tired. In fact, he looked as if he might never tire.

Starting to become desperate, Stalflare dove forward and threw a punch, but unfortunately, it never reached Stripe. The blow shattered several layers of Stripe's telekinetic shielding, but didn't have enough momentum to keep going after that, and stopped only a few inches from Stripe's red and white costume. A moment later, Stalflare flew back, as though he were being hurled through the air by invisible hands, and landed several yards away, next to a pretty large tree, cutting a deep gouge in the ground, as he slid to a stop.

Another invisible attack was leveled against Stalflare as he lay on the ground, so reacting swiftly, he seized as much of the tree as he could get hold of, and hurled it into the path of the oncoming attack. The tree was torn into splinters, which bounced harmlessly off of Stripe's invisible shield and Stalflare's skin, however.

By that point, for some reason, Stripe seemed to be tensing up a bit, however. Stalflare correctly interpreted that as a sign of weakness, but before he could take advantage of it, Stripe rocketed directly upward, temporarily out of his enemy's reach. Then out of the sky came several blasts of force, which hit Stalflare like enormous, invisible fists, knocking him down again, and pinning him to the ground. For a few moments, he began to lose all hope of escaping that attack, but at last, a new idea occurred to him.

Swiftly, Stalflare used his powerful muscles to rearrange a good deal of the soil underneath him, until he was underground. Moments later, he emerged from the earth at full speed, flying directly towards his brightly-colored enemy. Stalflare quickly put his staff into his enchanted bag, and began firing at his enemy, alternating between attacks of flame, and blinding flashes of light. The flame seemed to be draining some of stripe's powers, but the light was far more effective, because it caught him off guard, and he covered his eyes, as though by reflex alone, to protect himself from the blinding lights. Stalflare could only hope that that would leave an opening in Stripe's defenses, as he pulled back his left fist for one more strike.

Stalflare never got the chance to deliver that blow, however, because in just a moment, he was hit with the upper half of a skyscraper. The worst part was that because of all the blinding flashes he'd been using as weapons, he never saw the attack coming. The broad, flat surface; made of metal and glass, hit him so forcefully, that he actually plunged right through it, colliding with hard, wooden furniture and metal support beams, as he shattered through the glass windows of the building. The remains of the structure lowered themselves down in the other side of the park once they'd been used to bludgeon him, but Stalflare had been knocked to the other side of the city, and Stripe was hot on his tail.

The attack had been so powerful and unexpected, that Stalflare had needed to use up virtually all of his healing magic to survive it, and even then, he could tell that at least seven of his bones were broken, and Stripe had been concealing the lion's share of his power the whole time.

"Nobody..." Stripe panted, as he landed near the badly-wounded Stalflare, "messes... with me."

Stalflare refused, however, to give up, in spite of his injuries. He'd won one fight by getting into the enemy's head, and he didn't want to believe that it was impossible with that foe.

"You say that... ugh... as if you... get pushed around a lot."

Instantly, rage flashed across Stripe's face, and he hit Stalflare with a tree, using his obvious telekinetic powers. Stalflare felt something tear in his mouth when the tree hit him, but he was thankful that it wasn't a bone or muscle.

"More importantly, I've always had a friend." Stripe said, when he'd calmed down, "Star was my friend since I was a little boy, and he helped me when I was still weak. If not for him, things would have been a lot worse for me, but that's all in the past. Now, I'm the one with all the power, and no one is ever going to mess around with me again."

"Except the Conflict Master." Stalflare blurted out, but that time, Stripe didn't seem as upset.

"He only thinks he's messing with me. As soon as I can find him, I'll deal with him. I always do."

"I don't know." Stalflare replied, "Honestly, he seemed pretty powerful when he disciplined Apollo. Can you match that?"

"For now," Stripe replied, his expression hardening, "I just have to match you."

For a moment, however, nothing happened. No further attacks were headed in Stalflare's direction, as if Stripe was just considering his options.

"You know," he said, "I feel tempted to hit you with that skyscraper again."

Stalflare started to sweat as soon as his enemy said that. There was no way he could survive another attack like that.

"But, I think I might as well crush you with my power alone." Stripe concluded at last, "Just to prove that you never really had any chance against me."

Suddenly, Stalflare felt his body rise up out of the hole in the ground, which he'd made when he'd landed after his enemy's last attack, and he could feel a horrible pressure attacking him from all sides, pressing against his chest and head; his arms and legs, and every nerve center in his body all at once.

However, something was wrong with that attack. In spite of its clear power, and the many vulnerable points it was striking, there wasn't any pain. Stalflare looked down from where he dangled in the air, and could see that a worried expression was coming over Stripe's face. He was starting to focus harder, but Stalflare didn't feel any different. Somehow, Stripe's power wasn't affecting Stalflare directly, for some reason; at least not in the sense of being injured by it.

Stalflare could tell that he wasn't being hurt by the attacks of that boy anymore, but something was happening to him. The pain in his legs and arms, once piercing, had begun to lessen, and in only a few moments longer, it was completely gone.

Stalflare's bones had miraculously mended themselves, and in a short time, he felt his magic beginning to return. Somehow, Stripe's powers were rejuvenating Stalflare, and the poor kid probably didn't even realize it, but Stalflare couldn't understand why or how it had happened, and he pondered that for several seconds, trying to think of some reason why...

As Stripe's face became a mask of desperation, and Stalflare lowered to the ground, however, he'd started to develop a theory about what was going on. When he'd first transformed into a greide zwooda, his body had started by absorbing magic around it. He hadn't considered, at first, that he was still capable of that feat, but it seemed that Stripe's power was at least partially magical in nature. If Stripe had used his power to hit Stalflare with another large object, he would have been done for, but attacking with it directly had been a mistake. Because so much magic was so near Stalflare, pressing into his skin, his body was responding by absorbing some of it, and using that power instinctively, to both heal his wounds and restore his own magic supply.

If Stalflare had been in Stripe's position, he would have realized what was going on, and changed tactics at once, and he would have won, but Stalflare hadn't had the life that Stripe had lead. Picked on as a kid, with only one friend, Stripe had clearly grown up with a lot of anger in his heart. Any good sensei will tell you never to attack in anger, because when you do, you make mistakes. Indeed, Stripe had made the mistake of attacking in anger too often. He had no strategy for the use of his powers, and he'd never needed one. He was so angry at everyone, that he'd never grown into maturity, or been able to really focus on anything, and as such, he'd never developed a strategy, just in case something like that happened. He was much too accustomed to using his power like a bomb, as a purely force-based weapon, and hadn't bothered to consider that there might be a difference between one type of attack and another. Even as he fell to his knees, expending more and more of his power, Stalflare could tell that he still hadn't grasped the idea of fighting with intelligence, or perhaps, he simply refused to believe that brute force wasn't enough. With mindless rage, Stripe threw himself into his last attack, and fell forward, as Stalflare walked closer to him, standing over the younger man calmly. Just before Stripe's eyes closed, and he passed out from old-fashioned stubbornness, he uttered three words under his breath, however.

"What are you?"

Stripe only said those words in a hushed voice, but for some reason, Stalflare heard them loud and clear, and felt the distinct urge to respond to them in the only way that his bull-headed foe deserved.

"I'm the one who messed with you."

* * *

When Stalflare and Stripe reappeared, they were certainly an unusual sight. Stalflare was holding Stripe by the cloth around his neck, and in a single, swift motion, he tossed the unconscious fighter to the ground in front of his team, then returned to his own place, accompanied by looks of amazement and worry, being aimed at the back of his head from the opposing team. Even his own team was looking at him strangely, although only Link seemed to know what he wanted to ask his friend.

"Two questions." Link said, looking up from where he was in awe, "I couldn't tell what that fighter was saying at the end of the battle, but it's obvious you heard him. How?"

Stalflare's eyes widened for a moment in semi-surprise, but finally, he just said, "I'm not sure. I just did."

"And when you were flying through the air, you obviously saw him."

"That's right."

"How? There was too much dirt in the air to see through."

Stalflare smiled, however, and replied to that with much more confidence.

"Well, you know that Gerudo have a talent for seeing through flying sand. Dirt is only a step away from that."

"That's still very impressive." Link replied, although the expression on his face was starting to turn grim, as he looked at what remained of the opposing team. So far, Hyrule's team had done exceptionally well in those battles, but someone had to go next.

"I guess it's my turn ne..." Link started to say, but just then, he found himself being interrupted.

"No!" Princess Zelda shouted from behind the two of them, and when Link and Stalflare turned to look at her, they could see that she was clearly awake, and gasping for breath.

"Zelda!" Link exclaimed, rushing to her side at once, and trying to help her to her feet, "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"How long..." Zelda asked, taking in the battle-weary members of both teams with a single glance.

"Four single fights." Link replied, "There's two left. You and me."

For a moment, Zelda looked up at the teleport platform, where she could see that one of the enemy fighters; the one with the blue costume covered in white stars, had already taken his place, and seemed very angry about something. Zelda was pretty angry herself, but probably, she thought, for a different reason.

"That one up there is Star." Zelda told Link quickly, "He's a powerful psychic. You don't want to fight him."

"What about the other?" Link asked warily.

"He calls himself Spade." Zelda replied, "I think you might have a chance. He doesn't have any mental attack powers, but he's no slouch as a fighter."

"Are you sure you're ready to fight?" Link asked, helping her to her feet, however.

"I'm more than ready." Zelda replied firmly, shaking her head to dispell her momentary disorientation, from having just regained consciousness, "I have to fight this one. After what I've seen, I have to face one of them, and he seems like the best one for me to fight. I have to face him for a lot of reasons. I hope you understand."

Link hadn't seen what Zelda had seen, so of course, he didn't really understand, but he obviously had his suspicions. He clearly knew that she must have had her reasons for making that decision.

Of course, Zelda did indeed have a good reason for what she was doing. She was still a little wobbly after having just woken up, but somehow, she made it to the teleport platform. There, she faced the furious-looking Star. He'd seen his friend Stripe fall before Stalflare, and he wasn't about to let that by. His whole life had been spent in learning about morals, and trying to teach them to those around him, and if Stripe hadn't always gotten the full picture, that didn't mean, in his mind, that he deserved the pounding that Stalflare had given him.

"I'm Princess Zelda." Zelda said quickly, returning her enemy's frown, "You and your people have a lot to answer for."

"I'm Star," he replied, however, "and your team has done a lot of damage too."

Then, wordlessly, the two stepped into the teleporters, and soon they were...

* * *

Star glanced around, feeling disoriented for a moment, as he wondered where he and Zelda had wound up. They seemed to be in a house of some kind; he could tell that much. It was a humble, little cottage, large enough to live in comfortably, but made of somewhat flimsy-looking materials, woven and thatched from mud, wood and straw. Still, Star could sense that a residual spell surrounded that building material, making its construction almost invulnerable.

Star's opponent seemed to recognize the place much more than he did. Obviously, that was her world. She was clearly a little surprised, but she definitely recognized, not only the style of construction used in that place, but the house itself, and she seemed to be looking around, as if expecting someone to show up. When no one appeared after several seconds, though, Zelda turned to look at her enemy and spoke, sounding very concerned.

"It's too confining in here. Let's go outside."

Once she'd made that suggestion, without waiting for a response, Zelda calmly walked over to the door and opened it, stepping out into the beautiful Kakariko afternoon, and although he was still suspicious of her, Star knew that he had to go along with her. Soon, they stood together, just outside of Impa's house, the grass green and the normal noise of the village ringing in their ears. There weren't any cuccos around, but there were three children playing nearby, and several adults at work in the hills beyond the graveyard paths, which could only be reached by the recently-constructed stairs. It was a busy village afternoon, and that gave both fighters some additional problems to deal with.

"Blast!" Star remarked aloud, feeling aggravated by the crowd that surrounded them, "With all these people around, I can't fight you physically; not with my full powers. I can't take it easy, though! I have to lash out at something!"

"In that case, lash out at yourself!" Zelda responded angrily, "What happened to Stripe was his own fault for being stubborn, pigheaded and foolish! Yes, I know what happened. I read it in Spade's thoughts. You're only fighting me because you're mad that your friend failed. You're not really angry at me. You're not even really angry at Stalflare. The one you're really upset with is yourself, because you spent so much time with your friend, but you were never able to teach him basic responsibility. He was so angry, and consumed by his craving for revenge against the world, that all your lessons fell on deaf ears. But maybe, you're thinking, you just didn't know how to teach them; maybe it was your fault."

Star took two steps backward, away from Zelda, but his momentary shock faded quickly, and he lashed out at her a second later with a blast of psychic power, intended to cause her terrible pain. However, Zelda's defenses were so strong, and her enemy so unsteady, that the pain she felt wasn't any worse than the prick of a pin.

"Yes." Zelda continued, a moment later, "You can try to destroy me if you want. After all, that is what you came here to do, but I have a feeling you're only trying to kill me because I'm telling you something you don't want to hear. Even if you can beat me, though, it won't change the truth. You're grieving, you're disturbed, you hate yourself, and that causes you to hate everyone around you. All the time you've spent learning morality has only taught you what a horrible place your world really is, so why are you fighting me?"

"There's a shadow for every light." Star replied angrily, as he fired more pain blasts at his enemy, and floated up into the air. Using her telekinesis, Zelda followed him, and she could see that he was using his psychic powers to speed up nearby molecules, creating intense heat around his body as he continued, "No world can be good. No world can be moral. No one can do better than us, and we're doing the best we can."

That time, Star fired a searing flame from his fingertips, and Zelda was only partly able to dodge it. As she ducked to one side, the flames cut through the mask that covered her face, and she tore the flaming mass from her head, so that aside from smelling like smoke, she hadn't been injured by the fire at all. As she and Star stood in the air above Kakariko Village, however, looking each other in the face, the anger began to vanish from their eyes. Star seemed to be calming down, and as for Zelda, she had a hard time staying mad at her enemy.

"I know you're not an evil man." Zelda observed, "You're disheartened, because you want true goodness, and your whole world is intent on preventing that, but we shouldn't be fighting."

"Why not?" Star asked, "Aren't those the terms of the conflict; champions defending their worlds in combat? No principle can have any bearing on these fights, and you definitely can't tell me that your world deserves to live more."

"That's true." Zelda replied quickly, "From your thoughts, I've learned more than enough about the immorality of your world and your people, but we all deserve to live. That's not a matter of ethical degrees. Still, I wonder how you can fight me, knowing that I and my world are everything you've always wanted."

"What?" Star asked, starting to sweat, and feeling genuinely confused by what Zelda had just said, "What are you talking about?"

Zelda looked just as surprised a moment later, however, when she asked, "You mean you haven't read my mind? That's a surprise. You definitely have the power. Use it."

However, Star was losing his focus even more, as soon as Zelda made that suggestion, and at once, he tried to make some excuse for himself.

"Your defenses..."

"If you promise not to harm me until you're finished," Zelda said, "I'll believe you, and I'll lower my defenses willingly, and let you read my thoughts."

As they were speaking, the two fighters were descending back towards the ground, but it wasn't making Star feel any calmer at all.

"Do it!" Zelda exclaimed just a moment later, with an urgency that bordered on sternness, "Read my mind, now!"

* * *

Mark had just returned from delivering some mail to the kokiri. Many of them were still a little worried around him, but for the most part, they were starting to forget the kind of person that he'd been the week before, with the resilience of children. He had other trips to make that day, of course, but he could, he assured himself, accomplish those after lunch. He hadn't eaten since that morning, and it was getting pretty late in the day, but he knew that he wanted to have his meal in Kakariko. That, after all, was his new home. It was like the beating heart of Hyrule, and for Mark Fitzgerald, that heart was where his home was.

However, as he parked his wagon outside of Kakariko, Mark could hear a commotion from within, and moments later, he saw two figures flying through the air above the village. Responding quickly, he rushed up the stairway to Kakariko, determined to find out what was going on. There were certainly a lot of strange things in Hyrule, but if people there could fly, then he wanted to know more about it.

Almost as soon as Mark entered the main body of the village, he was met by Ramie and several other hylians, who'd begun to retreat, once they'd caught sight of the two figures floating in the air. They had, apparently, been fighting a bit, but the fighting had stopped, and the two seemed to be yelling at each other. However, not even the sharp-eared hylians could tell what was being said.

Mark could hardly believe his eyes, however, as he got closer to those two warriors, and recognized the male fighter as Star; a super-hero from his own world, and probably the one with the strongest moral guidance. When Mark had lived back on Earth, it was always to Star that people had looked for a good decision on what exactly was the right thing to do.

However, Star's foe was a hylian, or at least, she looked like one. She was female, with long, blond hair, dressed in a shiekah uniform, except without the mask. Mark swiftly turned to face Ramie, hoping that his new friend could provide him with some kind of explanation for what was going on.

"Who's the woman?"

"Everyone in Hyrule recognizes her except you." Ramie replied, though she hadn't meant the comment to sound insulting, "She's the princess of our whole realm. Her name is Zelda, and we haven't seen her around the castle for as long as you've been here. We'd thought that she might be on a mission of some kind. Her magic is very powerful."

"What's she like?" Mark asked after a moment, still confused about what was going on.

"Everyone likes the Princess." Ramie explained, "In moral judgment, some believe that she's even superior to our king. She's always been the wisest among us, ever since our land suffered at the hands of Ganondorf the sorcerer. She was one of the people who helped set things right."

However, Mark had heard enough already. As the other hylians retreated, away from the two fighters, Mark ran forward...

* * *

Star and Zelda continued to drift downward for a while, until they landed on the ground right next to one another. At last, when several seconds had passed with no words between them, Star spoke again, and he sounded more contemplative than angry.

"My father was the wisest man I've ever known." Star said, at last, "Every word that he ever spoke to me has stayed with me through my life. Whenever I have to make a very hard decision, which I feel I can't handle alone, it's the sound judgments of his words that I turn to."

A surprised expression spread across Zelda's face again, only a moment after she'd heard that, and for a moment, she seemed to have recognized the truth about her enemy. Star's mindset was so close to that of a hylian teenager, that it made her feel horribly sorry for him, to have been raised in a realm like earth, and to be such a rare, strong light, in a world full of darkness.

"When I was only ten," Star continued, "my father told me something that changed my life forever. He said that good and evil are opposing forces, and that they constantly do battle with each other, but good and evil aren't found in physical people and things. They're found within. Good remains the same over time, taking the form of higher morals and righteousness; love, truth and justice. That's what good always is. Evil, though, changes its form to tempt people into the easiest path of sin and wickedness. 'In this twenty-first century,' he told me, 'evil takes the form of the desire to ignore pain and problems. That's why the world is such a mess. Too many people are trying to ignore their problems by acting like nothing's wrong. If you really want to do the right thing, sometimes it has to be painful.'"

Zelda's eyes opened wide when she heard that. Star's father had indeed been a wise man, from the sounds of things. With that last sentence, Star had recited the twelfth hylian moral lesson that was taught to children in Hyrule's schools almost verbatim. It had taken a great deal of time to perfect those lessons, and somehow, an inhabitant of Earth had discovered the very same lessons without any help at all.

"Because of those words, my answer is yes." Star said at last, looking Zelda in the eyes with another smile, "I'll read your mind."

* * *

Star had read the minds of many people before; even people with multiple personalities. He had a lot of experience with it, but Zelda's mind wasn't like any mind that he'd ever explored. It seemed to almost be divided in two, in a very unusual way. One half of her mind was a place of light, which she was comforted by, and the other was a place of shadows, which she retreated to when there was danger. Those places existed in all minds, of course; the realms of light and darkness, but in her thoughts, they were very clearly defined and divided, more so than in any mind that Star had ever seen. He could tell that those places represented two methods of living, based on two types of experiences, and two distinct philosophies, which Zelda had honored in the past, and being a person who always tended to ask for the bad news before the good, Star decided that first, he'd dive into Zelda's darker experiences.

In that section of her mind, Star saw horrible things. There were memories of seven years of darkness, spent in hiding and training for total self-sufficiency. Zelda had undergone trials; magical, mental and physical, sufficient to create a dark patch in anyone's life.

However, through it all, Zelda had had a solid reason to persevere through those trials, and she'd gotten legitimate satisfaction out of completing them. It was as though Zelda had always known that there was a true and important point to her sufferings and her trials. There, in the darkness of Zelda's mind, Star read the history of the shiekah, the records of their founding, some of their methods, ideals, and their past actions. Stunned by everything that he saw, he retreated from the darkness of her mind, and dove into the half of her that dwelled in the light.

There, Star learned about the hylians, and the different hyrulian peoples; the happy times in her life. Whole years of her life had been spent living in peace, never being intentionally wronged, or tempted towards an evil action, and yet, during those years, she'd always been preparing herself, just in case something like that happened. It was the hylian way of life; just existing was enough to drive them to support justice in cunning and inventive ways.

At once, Star rushed back into his own mind, as the impact of what he'd just seen hit him, but rather than trusting Zelda more, he found that the only things he could bring himself to feel were envy and anger.

"It's not fair!" Star protested silently, into his own thoughts, "It's not possible! No place could be barren of evil for that long! No society could treat itself and its people that well! It can't be true, and if it is, then it shouldn't be!"

Star was disoriented after the experience of reading the thoughts of Hyrule's princess, but so was Zelda. He knew that he could still finish the fight if he moved fast enough. In fact, he decided, he had to. No one, Star thought, deserved the strong kind of justice that the hylians had.

"Why do you get all of that?" Star shouted furiously, as he punched Zelda across the face, knocking her to the ground with a single move. His blow had clearly hurt her, but Zelda wasn't injured by it. When she got her bearings back, she'd attack him again, but for the moment, she kneeled on the ground, out of breath, and obviously unable to really focus. It gave Star the opening that he needed to launch another attack, and finish the fight between them, but just as he was about to strike, Star heard a voice coming from one side, and interrupting his concentration.

"No!"

The scream came from nearby, and both combatants turned to look towards its source at once. However, they soon had to face one another again, because the voice belonged to a human male, and he'd rushed right up to the combatants, and positioned himself between Zelda and her attacker.

"No." the man said calmly to Star, looking him right in the eye as he took a moment to catch his breath, "Don't hurt her. She's a hylian."

"We're in the middle of a fight." Star said coldly, "There are whole worlds at stake here."

"This is the world I care about!" Mark shouted as loud and as adamantly as he could, and in that moment, his voice was heard all across the village. Everyone looked at him with awestruck expressions, amazed to see such determination in the human.

"Our world is a wicked place." Mark insisted to Star, his voice gradually returning to normal, "Everywhere, there's cruelty, lawlessness, selfishness, and people who make laws through money and corruption. Greed, hatred, persecution and sin run rampant all over the planet Earth. Do you really want to smash this wonderful land, just out of petty jealousy, because they have something that our people weren't allowed to have? Is that really how you feel?"

For a moment, Star swallowed, his own determination shaking, before the incredible witness, who was standing in front of him. Star didn't even know that man's name, but he was starting to remember his own real desires; how he really wanted justice and right to prevail over wickedness, and he was also beginning to question whether he could justify his own course of action.

"How many people live in this land?" Star asked slowly, some of his worry starting to show.

"Over a hundred people live happily in Hyrule." Mark replied firmly, "That's far more than the number of people who have happy lives on Earth."

Star hung his head for a moment, once he'd heard that, before finally, he spoke again, and they were words that he'd spoken to himself many times in the past, and once in the last few minutes alone.

"If you really want to do the right thing, sometimes it has to be painful."

With that, Star sat down in the grass of Kakariko Village, and by the time he was ready to get back up again, his actions had been interpreted as a surrender, and he and Zelda had been returned to the teleport area, both completely unharmed.

* * *

Thirty seconds after their return, Star seemed to return to his senses, turning to look at Zelda once again, and obviously, he had something else to say to Hyrule's princess.

"That was certainly painful." Star admitted to her, "But it was the right thing to do."

Zelda smiled at that point. She obviously knew enough about Star by then, that she was starting to trust him, in spite of the way he'd reacted to her thoughts, at first. After all, he'd made the right decision, and she must have known that she could trust him to continue making right choices in the future.

"What are you going to do next?" Zelda asked, with a smile so heartfelt, that Star couldn't help but return it, feeling his own heart melt just a little.

"I guess I'll go home and face my world again. Maybe I can help save the souls of the billions of people living there. I'm not like that human in your village. I can't afford to leave my world. My powers could make too great of a difference there."

At first, Zelda looked sad; as if she felt sorry for her momentary opponent, but in the end, she shook his hand heartily, saying "Maybe we'll fight again, although next time, I hope we'll be fighting on the same side."

In response, with a smile, Star returned her handshake, and said "I'd like that."

Moments later, the two were back with their own teams, and no more was said between them for a while, but Star seemed to be talking to Spade in a concerned tone of voice, who obviously wasn't being cooperative.

* * *

"I'm telling you Spade; we can't fight them anymore. It's not right."

"You're the moral idealist; not me." Spade replied derisively, however, "I don't even know if I can still win. I might be able to, depending on the rules, but everybody else on this team has been really incompetent. From where I'm standing, our chances aren't good."

"Spade, are you honestly saying you want to fight with their last champion?" Star asked, as he identified the last hylian champion as Link through telepathy, "He's the best one. Do you really want to fight someone who's trying that hard to be a hero?"

Spade, however, scoffed as he said, "Maybe you don't remember this, but when I first joined this team, it was to save the world from an alien invasion, and those aliens could have killed everyone. I'm no big-shot hero; I just want to save myself, and the people I care about. You may believe in higher morals, but I don't."

With those words, Spade stomped up onto the platform, and Star didn't have the heart to try and stop him by force.

"The name's Spade." the young man said to Link as the two reached the platforms together.

Link was a little curious about that fighter. He still seemed to be acting with a lot of confidence, though he was clearly no more than sixteen, but then, Link had been even younger when he'd first begun his adventures.

"I'm Link." the Hero of Time replied, "Since you clearly won't be talked out of this, can we get this over with? I hate having to fight with kids."

"Don't worry. I won't disappoint." Spade remarked sharply, as he stepped onto his team's platform. Soon, he and Link were gone.

* * *

That time, the two fighters appeared on a plane, which stretched as far as the eye could see, with only one small house nearby; made from simple wood. That place was definitely much larger than Hyrule Field, Link thought as he placed his hand on the hilt of the Master Sword, preparing for the fight to begin.

Spade seemed to be preparing as well, but not by reaching for a weapon. He was passing his hands back and forth through the air, and over one another; making some kind of magical hand-motions, until finally, a glowing, red orb appeared in front of him, and Link watched in amazement, as he shoved the orb into his chest, and a red sword, which seemed to be made of pure energy emerged from his right palm. The sword was easily three feet long, although Link doubted that it was his only weapon.

The boy swiftly leapt forth, and brought his sword down towards Link, who blocked with the Master Sword in the blink of an eye. In response, Spade let out a kick towards Link's chest, which Hyrule's hero blocked with his shield just as quickly. Then, Link's enemy kicked off from the shield, landing several yards back, having accomplished nothing with that little skirmish, but still, for some reason, looking very confident.

"Interesting." Spade remarked, as though evaluating a piece of steak, "Your blade must be enchanted. My sword should be able to cut through any normal metal."

"The Master Sword is more than just enchanted." Link explained, though he was already starting to feel sorry for his enemy, "But it works well against enchanted foes and weapons."

"I may need to approach this fight differently, then." Spade continued, and a moment later, pulsing energy was traveling through every one of his muscles. Link couldn't tell where the energy had come from, but for some reason, his foe seemed to almost to be vibrating.

Suddenly, Spade leapt into the air with enormous speed, and aimed his weapon at Link again; much faster than before. It took every ounce of speed in Link's body to block the blow with his sword, and dodge the punch and kick that followed, but just at that moment, the end of the energy sword seemed to grow larger, and Link had to duck to one side, to keep it from taking off his head. As it was, he got a scratch on his neck, and had to strike back with his own weapon quickly, causing both fighters to slide back away from one another.

Link was already feeling disappointed by the turn that fight had taken. He could probably have won that battle very easily if he'd known about the powers of his enemy early on, but with the cut in his neck, he couldn't fire beams from his sword anymore, and his enemy's speed was great enough that he didn't dare to put his sword away, in order to retrieve any longer-ranged weapons. Still, a few other possibilities were open to him, and Spade's long-range advantage wouldn't help him for long.

However, Spade was already changing his tactics again, as even more energy began to drive itself through his body, and a second energy sword appeared in his other hand.

"It'll probably have all the same powers, too," Link thought to himself as he watched his enemy unveil his next attack, "which means trouble. I'm not sure I can keep dodging two of those."

However, as bad as the situation looked for Link, it didn't take long for it to get even worse. In moments, Spade seemed to vanish completely. Soon, somehow, he'd gotten behind the hero from Hyrule, and Link had to rush, to block the first of his blows with his sword, but was slashed across the chest by another, and needed to leap backwards in order to evade the next several attacks. His enemy was just moving too fast to dodge in any other way. However, the moment that he leapt back, Spade was underneath him, and kicked him in the spine, sending a wave of pain through Link's whole body, as he felt one of his bones break. He couldn't tell which one, though.

Soon, Link fell to the ground, gasping in agony. Spade was definitely much faster than he'd been just moments before. Link's mind began to race as he tried to figure out the powers of his new foe; whether he had some kind of control over his own speed, and if so, would Link be able to use the same methods on him that he'd used on other speedy foes? In either case, that fight, Link concluded, would be simpler with some scenery, so he got to his feet a moment later, with a massive force of will, and stumbled off towards the nearby house. Spade was on him almost at once, though, punching and kicking from all sides, but that time, it wasn't doing any damage, thanks to the blue glow of Nayru's Love, which was surrounding Link. If only, he thought, he could make it to the house before his magic gave out, then he might have a chance.

However, as it turned out, Link didn't have to use up the rest of his magic after all. His enemy, it seemed, had decided to try a new tactic after the first twenty punches didn't work. Spinning his arms in circles, Spade began generating typhoon blasts, lined with razor-sharp energy swords. Link wasn't harmed by the blades, or by the force of the blast, but it lifted him right off the ground, and flung him towards his destination, where he collided sharply with one of the walls, putting a massive crack in the thin wood. Apparently, if there was anyone at home, they were wisely hiding from the two fighters.

However, by that point, Link was far enough away from Spade, that he had time to execute another attack. Shoving both hands against the ground, Link used up the remainder of his magic, as a flaming dome shot outwards from his body, causing the entire house to burst into flames, and heading right for the speedy fighter, who was still rushing in Link's direction.

Spade seemed to have seen the attack coming, because he tried to put the flames out with another typhoon blast, but when he realized that the flames were magical, and that his attack wouldn't dispel them, his mind began to race, searching for a way out of that predicament.

Link held his sword at the ready, as Spade kept charging towards him. The speedy fighter had paused for a moment at the flaming barrier, then seemed to vibrate more intensely, but then, to Link's dismay, the flames seemed to have passed right through him, and Spade continued his charge. Somehow, Spade's body was traveling so fast, that it could vibrate through solid objects. Even Link's wall of flame; itself a mass of fast-moving molecules, seemed to qualify.

Link was starting to sweat, as he watched his enemy getting closer, but he only clutched his sword more tightly in his hands. Spade was running so fast, that Link had only a moment to prepare for the impending attack. In one motion, he'd whipped out his javelin-like energy weapons, and begun slicing back and forth with them. Link's swift dexterity and reactions allowed him to respond to the long weapons pretty well, and he was only nicked by them about a dozen times during that first volley, and not in lethal areas, but when Spade finally got close enough to deliver a more powerful blow, Link was ready.

Rather than dodging the next attack, Link simply put his sword out in front of him, and watched as Spade's fist collided with the point of the blade head-on. The moment Spade was pierced by the blade, he drew back with superhuman speed, looking horrified by what had just happened to him, but to Link, that was still disappointing. He'd hoped, for a moment, that Spade's momentum would be enough to force him the rest of the way onto Link's sword, finishing the fight, but it seemed that Spade had a lot of control over how fast he traveled, and could even come to a dead stop in a fraction of a second, when he saw that there was danger. It also seemed that not even Spade could move fast enough to vibrate through the blade of the Master Sword, and if he had to slow down his forward motion in order to vibrate, and maybe even stand still...

The gears in Link's head turned quickly, as Spade clutched his punctured fist in agony, then disappeared again. Then, however, Link did something that he'd never had the nerve to do since the fight had first begun; he put away his sword.

Based on Spade's apparent powers, Link had developed two possible counterattacks against him during that battle. The fact that neither had been horribly effective was something of a moot point. By then, Link had enough information to attempt a third counterattack, and from what he'd learned of his enemy so far, it seemed as likely to succeed as anything.

Gripping the side of the flaming house, Link bore the pain, as his hands began to sear, and with the mighty power of his golden gauntlets, he spun around, and flung the entire house at his enemy, then immediately pulled out his sword again.

* * *

Spade had gotten back up by that point; in pain, but willing to bear it, when the flaming mass began to bear down on him from nearby. With very little time to act, he started vibrating again, and rushed forward as fast as he could.

Spade poked his face out of the front of the flaming house in seconds. In a moment, the rest of his body would vibrate through it, and he'd be on the attack again, but just then, he saw something that sent terror into his soul. Link was standing right there, in front of him, just outside of the house, with his sword outstretched in front of him, taking a swing with that blade, right through the very wall that Spade was trying to pass through.

Instinctively, Spade dodged the lethal blow of the Master Sword, but then, he screamed in agony, as his life came to an end.

Link felt very sad over what he'd been forced to do. Once he realized that Spade's vibrating trick used up all of his superhuman speed, he knew that forcing Spade to choose between vibrating and dodging was the only way to truly beat him, and it was a terrible shame that such a method would invariably lead to the fighter's death. Spade had chosen to dodge the blade of the Master Sword, and had stopped vibrating, while still inside the flaming wall of the house. His body had materialized inside the wall, and the merging of flesh and burning wood had killed him almost instantly. Link sighed in dismay, as he was returned to the teleport area by himself.

"I swear." Link promised aloud, "Your death won't last."

* * *

Naturally, Hyrule's team was declared victorious almost at once. Very few members of the opposing team had any more to say about it, given how thoroughly they'd been beaten. There was, however, one exception; one fighter who still wanted to talk to one of Hyrule's champions.

Less than five minutes after the match was finished, Spectro opened the door to Byrna's room and stepped inside. To his surprise, the room contained an elaborate laboratory, in which Byrna was experimenting with something that looked like an electrode, and some chemicals that glowed, from inside the bottles that contained them.

"So," Byrna noticed, turning to face him in the midst of her experiment, "you came."

Spectro, however, was silent for a while, as he watched Byrna longingly.

"Star managed to find peace with himself, even after what he just went through." Spectro said aloud, "Many of the others are upset; especially about Spade's death, but that's probably for the best. However, I'm as far from finding peace as I've always been during my missions to spread justice."

"I'm not your long-lost girlfriend." Byrna exclaimed, as she put down her chemicals, "I'm a person from another world. We're not so identical, that I could tell you how she felt about you."

Spectro's face fell when Byrna said that, however. She'd rushed right to the end of a conversation which he'd hoped might last a little longer.

"Is that what you really think of me?" Spectro asked, feeling pretty angry himself, after having been snapped at so quickly, "Do you think I came here to ask you about her opinions of people who've never even lived in your world? Samantha was a participant in the greatest of all experiments, but she's been dead for many years, and you wouldn't have known. It wouldn't be reasonable to ask you to remember her."

Byrna looked puzzled by that point, as she seemed to be trying to figure out what Spectro was really saying, but her social skills just weren't that good, so in the end, she decided to just ask him outright.

"What are you trying to say, then?" she asked, "What do you want from me? Why did you come here?"

At that point, though, Spectro hung his head, and his expression changed to one of disappointment, as he asked, "Do you want me to spell it out? Fine. Remember when I told you that you were identicle to Samantha, even in terms of your soul itself?"

"Of course."

At that point, Spectro's expression grew sadder, however, as he continued, "For over sixty years, my soul has been incomplete. I need you to give me your own honest opinion of me. I admit that if Samantha were here, I'd ask her the same thing, but I'm not mistaking you for her. You are enough like her, though, that you could give me the same answer that she could. What do you think of me, Byrna? Are you happy with who I am?"

Spectro seemed to be close to tears, as he asked his final question, and even Byrna could tell why. She'd been wearing goggles to protect herself from the chemicals, but at that point, she removed them, as well as her gloves, and looked Spectro right in the eye. She could see the expression of longing in his eyes again, as she watched him; the look of someone who sees a treasure that he's longed for all his life, but never had the means to obtain. In the end, though, Byrna felt so sorry for him, that she knew there was only one thing she could do.

Byrna sat down on the bed in her room after only a moment, and looked Spectro in the face with a smile, saying "Spectro, you're a little rough sometimes, with the way you do things, but all in all, you're a hero. You believe in justice, and you stand up for it. You're worthy to be called a hero, and you're worthy of the fruits of our combined labors. I'm proud to have known you. I feel sorry for you, because of all you've lost, but maybe someday you'll find a way to make your own life right again, by helping to bring hope to people in need, and spirit to people who lack it. As long as you follow that path, I want you to remember that I'll always believe in you, and if we ever meet again, I'll congratulate you on everything you've accomplished."

For a moment, Spectro looked totally bewildered, causing Byrna to giggle a little, and a tear really did come into his eye. Then, in a moment, a smile appeared on his lips. All too soon, however, a look of horrible fear spread across his face, and he turned away from her.

"We'll never meet again." Spectro said, after several seconds of standing there in silence, "Not you and me, Byrna. The danger is too great."

"Danger? What danger?"

"What I mean is that it's dangerous for my mental health. Just now, when you spoke... Your words, your posture, the expression on your face; even your laugh. My word, even your laugh. All of it was like being visited from the afterlife by my Samantha. For a moment, I even thought that the impossible had happened, and that you were really her. I don't think it would be healthy for me to meet you again."

Byrna's expression started to turn sad at that point, though, and after thinking silently for a moment, she asked, "I remind you of her too much, don't I? You said before that being reminded of her reminded you of sorrow too, so I can understand how that would be a problem."

"Well, that is part of it." Spectro admitted, still not facing Byrna directly as he spoke, "But I'm also afraid that I'll be consumed by the desire to move to Hyrule, and try to win your love. That wouldn't be good for either of us, or for my world, because Earth would lose me completely, and I wouldn't really be falling for you anyway. I mean, I do have feelings for you, but they're just the same ones I had for Samantha, and that's not healthy."

"No." Byrna admitted, "We live in two different worlds, and it wouldn't be right to try to change that. Still, there's one more thing I'm sure of, Spectro. Samantha isn't alive in me; she's alive in you. If you keep her alive in your heart, she'll always be there to comfort you, even when it seems like there's no hope. If you need validation of the things you've been doing, look for real wisdom. Samantha had it, and I'm sure she wanted you to have it too, but you can't look to me for it."

Spectro just nodded swiftly, however, as he opened his mouth once more.

"Good-bye."

Then, Spectro stepped out of that room, and out of Byrna's life for good.

* * *

Spectro felt like beating himself over the head with a stick as he took his teleporter back to his own world. As soon as he stepped from the teleporter into the middle of central park, however, he was greeted by the voices of many reporters wanting a statement, but he paid them no heed. Since reentering his world, there was only one voice that he wanted to hear, and she was long gone. Saddened and despondent, Spectro retreated to the one place where he knew that no normal human could follow him; the sky. In moments, he was soaring over the Great Plains, watching fields of grass pass by under him at dozens of miles per hour. Normally, flight was a way for him to drive away the loneliness, but that time, it wasn't working.

Suddenly, however, Spectro heard a voice crying out for help, and spun around in the air, as if by instinct. He looked around carefully, until his sharp eyes picked out a mass of burnt timber, near which there was a hole in the ground, surrounded by fallen boards. Reacting quickly, Spectro yanked over a hundred pounds of iron ore out of the field beneath him, and shaped it into a shovel-like tool. With his powers, the tool began to dig further and further into the fallen boards and loose masonry, until at last, the pile was removed, and there stood an old woman, wearing a green dress. Her spectacles had been broken in the chaos, and her long, white hair was all in a mess, but she recognized the man who'd come to her rescue.

"Spectro, thank goodness!" the old woman exclaimed in relief, "I didn't think I'd get a sooper-hero's attention. Oh, thank heavens! Maybe there are some good people out there after all!"

In the expression on the old woman's face, there was relief, gratitude and hope. Spectro could see in her eyes that she looked to him, not to do everything for her, but as a source of hope for her own life. He was her savior; and her inspiration. It made him feel better too. In fact, it was almost like having a child of his own.

Suddenly, however, Spectro heard another voice behind him, which almost made him jump in alarm.

"Why are you so surprised that this sort of thing still makes you feel good?"

By that point, the old woman had gone to work at the task of searching the rubble for something, and didn't notice when Spectro looked around for the source of the voice. She probably would have thought he was crazy, though, since she obviously hadn't heard the voice herself. However, as he examined his surroundings, Spectro saw something that made him rub his eyes in disbelief. It couldn't be, he tried to tell himself. Maybe Byrna was just playing some mean-spirited trick on him. It couldn't be Samantha; his Samantha, standing right in front of him, and looking just like she had sixty years before.

"Yes." Samantha said aloud, in response to Spectro's unspoken thoughts, "It's really me. You've made yourself awfully tough to get in touch with, Reggie."

At once, Spectro, addressed by his birth name, rushed forward and reached out with his hand, only to find himself grasping thin air. His beloved giggled in amusement when that happened, though; the same kind of laugh that Spectro remembered from all those decades ago; the laugh that he could never forget.

"Cut it out. That tickles."

At once, however, Spectro's conscious mind flashed back to reality, and he spoke to Samantha insistently, determined to get at the truth.

"You can't be real. You're dead."

"And you're a psychic." Samantha reminded him, "You have a natural affinity for sensing spirits; you just never knew it. Naturally, there are limits to your power. You have to want to get in touch with the spirit, they have to want to get in touch with you, you have to be in the right frame of mind, and so forth, and that last one's taken you all these years. Even after all this time, this is the first time you've felt the true joy that comes from helping and bringing hope to others, and in doing so, you've brought hope to yourself. As long as you keep that hope alive, we can communicate, and one day, we'll be together forever, but in the meantime, we have a lot of good to do, so let's get going."

"First thing's first." Spectro replied, trying to subdue his building enthusiasm, "Do you really approve of who I am?"

"You're a good person at heart, Reggie." Samantha replied, "Just like I always knew you would be. You sometimes go a little overboard when you're dealing with villains like the CEO of that one energy company you brought down a few years ago, but you never meant to do the wrong thing, and you always kept your eyes on what you thought was right for everyone. No one can expect any more than that."

"Will you give me your advice when I need it?" Spectro asked, hope finally returning to his own heart, "Will you be there when I need to talk to you?"

Samantha smiled, however, as she said, "As long as you keep hope alive in your heart, and remember me for who I was, and what I believed in, my spirit will always be with you, though you may not always see me like you do now."

"I promise," Spectro exclaimed with tears flowing down his cheeks, "that's exactly what I'll do!"

* * *

The sun was starting to set, and once again, Mark had been turned away from the Zora's Domain, and was practicing a tune on a flute that he'd bought with a few of his rupees, as he sat on one of the platforms in the Zora's River. He didn't have anything else to do for that day, and would be ahead of schedule anyway, so there was nothing wrong with him spending a little time on music that evening.

However, as Mark continued trying to master the use of the instrument, a beautiful melody seemed to erupt from behind him on a very similar kind of instrument. Even the melody was similar to the one that Mark had been trying to play. Quickly, he turned around, and there stood Link. Mark had never met Link before, but he had seen pictures of him, and heard his description, and he recognized the Kokiri-style clothes, the blond hair, and the blue ocarina that the young hero carried. Mark stood up and smiled at that point, just as Link put his ocarina away.

"I see you've heard of me." Link observed with an amused grin, "I've heard of you too. You've been something of a troublemaker in the past, but in my opinion, you more than made up for it by sticking up for Zelda like that. I'm sure she'll want to give you some award or medal or some other thing that's probably a waste of time."

Mark sighed, and put his own flute away in his bag at that point, however.

"You get to be the hero all the time, Link." Mark said with a wry smile, "You always save people when they need it the most. Do you think I did the right thing?"

"What else could you do?" Link asked with a shrug, "You were very brave back there."

Mark just frowned at that point, however. It was obvious to him that Link hadn't been told about the fate of his family.

"Link, I come from a very barbaric world, where the rich get where they are by stepping on the backs of the poor, and where people are forced to spend their days slaving under severe schedules, monitored by inhuman devices. I left my world alone, because my family refused to come here with me. I didn't know anyone else who wanted to be saved from that, but if I'd stayed, I would have gone insane."

"No." Link replied, "You would have grown cold, bitter and cynical. You would have re-accustomed yourself to the normal, human vices, and the misery of Earthly existence, and eventually, you would have died, at the end of a very sinful life, just like the rest of your people."

As Link said those things, however, he moved closer, until he could see into Mark's eyes.

"Even now," Link continued, looking very stern, "The corruption of your people hasn't been completely annihilated in your own heart, but you're a better man than you were, since you won't be led astray by others from now on. If there's ever a moral problem in your life from this moment on, the source will be obvious to you. You'll be the only human here. You'll be one of a kind, and your road might not be easy, but you will have the chance to be saved. The memory of your world might live on in you, and maybe humanity will have contributed to something wonderful after all."

"I keep wondering if I abandoned them, or if I'm running away from my problems." Mark said at last, clearly looking guilty, but Link's expression was already indecipherable.

"Are you guilty?" Link asked aloud, though more to himself than to Mark, "That's a hard question to answer. Is there anything you could have done to save them too? To save all of them? Could you have done more good by staying?"

For a moment, the feelings of guilt passed from Mark's face, and he looked at Link in admiration.

"No." Mark admitted at last, feeling amazed by the Hero of Time's wisdom, "I couldn't have done any good if I'd remained on Earth. For a while, I would have writhed like a bug in a jar, and if I didn't die of grief, I would have lost my soul, just like you said. I guess I just feel a little guilty because my problems are solved..."

"But other's problems aren't." Link finished his statement, "It's not possible to solve everybody's problems, though, especially when people don't want them solved. For a person's problems to really be solved, they first have to be willing to accept the solution. Otherwise, they're responsible for their own fate."

As Link said those words, however, Mark felt an incredible sense of peace welling up within himself. Just like that, his guilt had vanished, and, he realized in amazement, all the nightmares of his former life were really over.

"Good night, Mark of Hyrule." Link said, as Mark gazed out at the stream in awe of what was happening to him, "I hope you get a good night's sleep, because your life is going to be long and satisfying."

After taking a moment to think about what Link had just said, Mark turned to face him again, but by then, the Hero of Time had disappeared.


	16. Pt2 Ch8 The Final Fury

Chapter 8: The Final Fury

* * *

Three days passed slowly, as the team from Hyrule underwent the difficult process of recuperating and training, which had dominated so much of their recent past. But when the time finally came for the last team battle prior to the Conflict Master's challenge, each member of Link's team was reasonably confident in their abilities, and in the improvements they'd made over time.

Link seemed odd to many of the others in that respect. His discovery of the magic boomerangs and the sword beam technique seemed to be the only improvements he'd undergone over the past year, and he was certainly worried about the fights to come, but he didn't seem to be afraid of failure. Maybe he was confident that his team could handle the latest threats, or maybe it was something else.

Stalflare, as usual, made himself very difficult to read. On the surface, he still seemed arrogant and somewhat annoyed, but deep down, he harbored doubts, not only about the nature of the Conflict Master, but about the prospect of defeating him. Still, his worries about his new enemies were being saved until after he'd seen what they could do.

Zelda was probably more worried than any of the others. Her skills had improved dramatically since she'd entered the conflict, but she didn't know how much good it would do her to understand the nature of magic when she was being faced with people to whom it rarely applied.

Ruto's water manipulation techniques had, she discovered, been growing stronger, just as she did. All the trials she'd forced herself through; all the pain she'd purposefully undergone just to get better than she was; it had apparently effected her in more than mere muscle strength. The powers that she'd discovered along the way; the combat experience she'd gained; those were things that couldn't simply be undone. They were things that had helped to strengthen her in many ways.

"If I went home now," Ruto thought to herself in amazement, "If they understood what I've become, I could be more than just their queen. They might even treat me like a goddess."

Darunia's thoughts were all in a jumble. he still hadn't quite gotten over being forced to kill the young lady with the quills, despite all the training and physical stress that Ruto had put him through less than a week ago. It was a tribute, however, to the goron boss's ethical strength, that his physical suffering hadn't driven thoughts of morals from his mind, the way it did to Ruto. For some reason, he was thinking less about the dead, and more about the people who survived that conflict.

Then there was Byrna. It would be a lie to say that her experiences with Spectro had had no effect on her. For the first time in her life, someone had looked to her for a comforting voice, and words of reassurance, and she'd given those things freely enough, but suddenly, she began to feel a desire that had been buried for a long time within herself. She was starting to notice that she really did have the will to comfort those who were in pain. Was it something to do with her past, she wondered? Was it just that Link had helped her when she needed it? Was it a natural part of being a hylian to want to help others?

During the past three days, Byrna had been staying, not in one of her labs, but in Hyrule Castle. While there, she'd been experimenting with water properties, and the effects of magic on them, and had arrived at an interesting result. She'd been able to, with a somewhat large apparatus, and a fairly difficult spell, project a "hydro-sonic field" all through her room. Sound traveled better in water than through the air, and she'd been able to duplicate that effect by itself, though naturally, it took a great deal of skill and magic to control the effect.

By accident, though, while she'd been doing that, Byrna had overheard two of the people who worked in the castle discussing her from nearby.

"...was Byrna."

"I didn't know she was planning on visiting the castle, did you?"

"Prepare the defensive spells, just in case."

"She's not going to hurt anyone, is she?"

"I know, but there are people who say she has a little too much knowledge, and a bit too little wisdom. She might set the roof on fire, just to see how fast it would burn."

Naturally, that had been something of an exaggeration, but Byrna could hardly blame the poor mage for what he was hearing. In a castle like that one, almost every message was passed on by word of mouth, and sometimes, things were misunderstood, despite the normally-excellent hearing of the hylians.

Still, that comment had consumed Byrna's thoughts, as she walked down the hallway with her team. She was starting to wonder if she really did lack wisdom. Was that why she hadn't started caring what other people thought until recently?

"Believing in the good of all concerned is wisdom." Zelda advised Byrna as they walked along, having apparently overheard the thoughts of her teammate, "The amount of time that one devotes to determining what that is and making sure it comes about is a decent measure of one's wisdom."

"It's creepy when you do that." Byrna observed, however, not really paying much attention to what Zelda had just said.

"Sorry." Zelda replied in a moment. In the castle, she read people's thoughts all the time, and no one ever minded. Hylians in general were very honest with their thoughts, and although Byrna was a hylian, Zelda hadn't been paying much attention to the fact that Byrna's life had hardly been a typical one.

However, Zelda's thoughts, and the thoughts she was picking up began to take an unexpected turn as they entered the teleport area for the conflict finals. Naturally, there was still the bloodthirsty nature of the crowd above the area, just as there had been so often before, but the thoughts she was feeling from the opposite team were stranger than anything she'd ever felt.

One of the opposite team members; a bald man dressed in briefs, sent out a single thought impulse, and then suddenly, Zelda couldn't read him anymore. It was strange, she noticed, that in that brief impulse, his thoughts had been about both curiosity and greed, while hate consumed his teammates.

None of the other five fighters wanted to be there; Zelda could tell that much. They would just as easily have fought one another, if not for the Conflict Master's power keeping them in check. In their minds, Zelda noticed, they were filled with unbearable anger and hate for everyone around them, including their own team members. They saw those people as a challenge to their nature, and to their existence, and their other thoughts were even more barbaric than those of the last team. They had no higher moral inclinations; at least none that Zelda could see. They did everything by strength.

After a moment had passed, Zelda examined the five other opposing fighters. One was a woman dressed all in black, and like the bald man, her skin was spotless. Her long, flowing hair was pitch black, and her eyes looked a sort of hazel-ish color, but Zelda couldn't tell, because they seemed to change tint periodically as well.

Beside her was a very large person; nine feet tall if he was an inch, and probably weighing something in the neighborhood of nine hundred pounds, due to his vast amount of muscle mass, and the enormous size of his arms and legs. He resembled a massive ape in proportions, but it was obvious that his intelligence was greater than any higher primate, though probably still not up to hylian level. He was dressed in bright red to match his fiery hair, and his eyes seemed to blaze with some kind of occult power.

The next fighter looked like an old man with long, grey hair. He had many scars on his arms, legs and chest, but he wasn't really injured anymore. He had a grey mustache and beard, and his eyes were green. His face was covered in the wrinkles of great age, combined with enormous stress. He was dressed in a short, white robe, and a pair of bright green pants, both of which were tattered. Zelda was interested to note, however, that the inside of his robe was lined with scissors.

After him was an absolutely-monstrous beast; a good fifty feet tall. The creature was a massive, four-legged, scaly monstrosity, with a long neck, and a horrifying, snake-like head at the end of it. It also had a long tail, which seemed to lash around in belligerence. The entire creature was green all over.

Beyond him, in stark contrast; at least in appearance, was a funny-looking, little man. He was only a couple of feet tall, and his head was probably half the size of the rest of him, held up by the strange way his bodyweight was distributed. He was wearing an odd, little green tux, and a bowler hat, which was bright orange, and he looked more annoyed than angry, to judge by his facial expression, but it was obvious that the rage and ambition of his world hadn't been something that he'd escaped from completely either.

"Zelda." Link remarked aloud, though he didn't have to say any more than that. They'd been through that ritual before, and Zelda knew what Link wanted without even having to be told.

"They're an odd race." Zelda explained slowly, "They call themselves the furies. They don't have any kind of life philosophy, beyond a strict dedication to authority through strength. As near as I can tell, they're no more civilized than a pack of wolves in that respect. Still, I can't quite tell what their abilities are. I suspect the old man's power has something to do with his hair, though."

Link nodded. He himself could sense that their enemies had a combined power greater than anything that the hyrulian team had confronted before. He couldn't predict whether all of them would survive those battles.

"I'll go first." Darunia suggested, "I want to finish with this ridiculous conflict."

"We still have the conflict master to worry about." Link reminded him, "Still, you might be right. We don't even know what we're up against yet. I suppose you might as well go first."

Just like that, it was decided that Darunia would step up to the teleporter, and opposite him, the massive, nine-foot man approached.

"My name is Darunia." the goron boss said after only a moment, "What do they call you?"

"Scott." the giant said in slight disgust, "Are we gonna fight or not?"

"We haven't much choice." Darunia just observed, stepping into the teleporter designated for his team's use.

* * *

Darunia and Scott found themselves in a forest, where all the trees were full of cracks, but where only a few had been knocked down. That was only one of the many areas that the team had fought in recently, which seemed to have been demolished by some incredible battle. Green light shone down on the two fighters through the leaves above.

"Before we begin," Scott said, "I want you to know that although the conflict master doesn't care whether I kill or trap you, I do. In my neck of the woods... so to speak... we're taught not to stop until the enemy can't ever get back up again. I've killed everyone I've fought with in this conflict so far, and I intend to kill you as well, so I hope you don't have any regrets."

For Darunia; a soul still consumed with guilt over being forced to kill an enemy in the heat of battle, an attitude of that nature was more than he could stand. Without even saying a word, he ran forward, he began firing off rapid punches at his enemy, each blow strong enough to demolish a brick wall with ease, and four being delivered every second.

After nearly thirty seconds of hitting his enemy, however, Darunia stepped back to survey the damage, and his expression transformed instantly into one of absolute horror, as he saw that there wasn't any damage at all. Scott didn't even seem to have been bruised by his enemy's blows.

"My, my." Scott said mockingly, "If you can do better than that, I may have to move to win."

Darunia did indeed have every intention of doing better. Focusing, he caused the flame auras to appear around his fists. In his fight with Thor, they'd nearly melted his hands, but since then, he'd been practicing with enduring the heat, and found that he could safely endure as much as eight thousand degrees, before it began to soften his skin.

Leaping forward with the intense eight thousand-degree flames attached to his hands, Darunia delivered still more blows, keeping his eyes on his enemy at all times. At last, he fired up the heat around his fists to levels so unsafe, that his own hands were charred black by them, and all the trees around them for several yards burned to the ground.

However, there at the heart of the unearthly blaze stood Scott. Still, he smiled through the force that had nearly defeated a god. The reflections of the fires danced in his eyes, as he said aloud "You just don't understand."

Enraged, Darunia pulled out one of his hammers and swung it with all his might, watching it collide with Scott's face head-on, but again, it did visibly nothing. Darunia was flabbergasted. He'd at least expected it to break Scott's nose.

Still, he wasn't ready to give up. Swiftly, he swung again with his weapon, but by that time, it seemed that Scott had gotten bored with Darunia, and he reached up with one hand, and grabbed the blunt end of the hammer. Then, with a swift twist of his arm, Scott had flung both the hammer and Darunia through the air, and into a careening spiral, which knocked him, screaming, through several burning trees.

Darunia wasn't exactly injured by the splintered trees, but he was determined not to let Scott claim victory. As he struggled to his feet, he muttered defiantly, "Don't care... how strong..."

However, it seemed that Scott had heard Darunia's words, because a moment later, he was laughing aloud.

"Yes!" Scott exclaimed jubilantly, "I am stronger than you; something like twice as strong, from what you've shown me, but that hammer of yours could probably still have killed me, if I wasn't untouchable."

"Twice?" Darunia asked aloud, "You took a pounding that would injure a god without a scratch to show for it! How?"

"Alright." Scott said with a smirk, "If you really want to know, I'll tell you."

At that moment, Scott held out one of his arms, showing it to Darunia, and said "My entire body is covered in two extra layers of skin. My lower layer of skin is a lot like your own; a tough hide; able to withstand enormous punishment, but my upper layer has another property. Whenever a type of energy assaults my upper layer of skin, it lets through only as much energy as necessary, and teleports the rest to another world. The heat, impacts and other assaults of your last attack are, at this very moment, dissipating in an empty void beyond the boundaries of this reality. That's why I can easily take direct physical attacks. This isn't some kind of force field or magic defense barrier. Your attacks didn't harm me because they can't reach me!"

As he said all of that, Darunia's eyes widened, and Scott grabbed him by the neck in one hand, his enormous fingers reaching all the way around the bearded goron's throat.

"But," Scott finished, "I can still reach you."

"Energy." Darunia thought, as the vast strength of his enemy began to press down on his neck, "Energy, energy..."

At last, however, Darunia coughed and sputtered, then said, "You forgot one last thing."

Scott seemed just a bit interested by his enemy's ploy at first, but then Darunia held up his own fist, and asked "How many fingers am I holding up?"

At first, Scott thought it was purely a foolish joke, to ease the pain of his opponent's impending death, but once again, the fires began to surround Darunia's fist, and that time, they blazed not merely with heat, but with a light so bright that in a moment, Scott could see nothing but spots.

Dropping to the ground, Scott rubbed his eyes desperately, but he still couldn't see. For a moment, he screamed, shouted and raged as Darunia scraped free of his grip, but after a short time, he burst out laughing again.

"By Mephisto!" Scott shouted aloud, "I should have known the finals would give me a more interesting target! I'll have earned this kill!"

Darunia rolled noisily through the woods, as he tried to think up another plan of battle. Scott was definitely a powerful enemy; a more challenging foe than anything he'd faced so far. For a moment, however, he decided to resort to an older tactic, to at least delay the monstrous fighter.

Yanking out his hammers, Darunia began pulling up large sections of dirt, and even entire trees from the ground. He couldn't cause an avalanche in the forest, certainly, but maybe, he thought, a landslide would be effective too.

Darunia could hear a crashing sound in the woods, as Scott barreled through them as fast as his long, thick legs could carry him. Soon, he collided with the massive cloud of dirt that Darunia's hammers had been kicking up, and his eyesight would hardly have helped him much. Still, Darunia could see just what was going on, and he knew that his enemy had tripped, falling forward into one of the large holes created by the goron's weapons.

Swiftly, Darunia used both hammers as shovels, and tipped the massive pile of dirt he'd created on top of the hole containing his foe. Then, he pressed it down on his enemy with both hammers. Darunia could feel the giant struggling beneath the rocks, trying to break free of the prison with every possible effort. At last, though, Scott succeeded in getting one hand free, and pounded it hard against the ground.

Just moments before he would have been judged incapacitated, Scott's pounding fist caused a tremor, breaking open a small part of the earth around him, and allowing him to break free. That time, however, he was angry, and clearly wasn't going to take any more chances. Before Darunia could plan a new attack, Scott grabbed him by the head again, and slammed him into the ground, then lifted up one foot, and brought it down...

* * *

Byrna gasped in shock and horror, stumbling backwards.

Ruto swallowed hard, and collapsed to the ground in a seated position.

Zelda fell to her hands and knees, and the ground beneath her face began to darken with teardrops.

Stalflare showed only one sign of emotion. His eyes opened much wider.

All that time, the champions from Hyrule had known that there was danger at that conflict; even mortal danger, but for most of them, the thought that one of them might perish had seemed a remote possibility. Even as Scott re-appeared on the teleporter alone, many of them couldn't accept that Darunia was really dead. Still, they all knew that they couldn't take any action against Scott directly. That was one thing they'd learned from Apollo's mistake. The only question was who was going to fight next.

"I'm going next!" Ruto exclaimed, leaping to her feet with an enraged look in her eyes.

"No chance!" Byrna yelled, "I'm fighting!"

Suddenly, however, there was a noise like a small explosion, and a strong wind began to blow against the others from behind. Almost at that very moment, a voice sounded from all around them, echoing like thunder.

"All of you stand down. The next fight will be mine."

Stalflare turned around to voice an objection, but no words came out of his mouth. The vision that he saw there was one of the few things in the world that he still had reason to worry about; one of the few forces that he still couldn't overcome, and quite possibly the only person he truly feared becoming enemies with.

Link stood there with the Master Sword in one hand, but it wasn't the Link who he'd known for the past couple of weeks. That Link shone once again with a blinding light, emanating from every point on his body. All the good intentions of the hundred decent hylians swirled around him as an undeniable power once more, and that time, the light that shone from his face was bright red. His expression was a look of rage, the likes of which Stalflare hadn't seen since the first invasion of the undead. No one was going to argue with Link that time. He'd be the next to fight.

Link seemed almost to float along the ground as he approached the teleporter. There, he could see that the old man had decided to fight next. However, Link had no words for the old one, not even in introduction, and his opponent, in turn, just shrugged, as Link stepped into one of the teleporters. Maybe, after all, it was for the best that they didn't say much to each other, since one of them would likely be executing the other soon.

* * *

For the first time since the conflict began, the Conflict Master had opened his eyes. He hadn't needed to see, or be told who was winning each of the matches. His powers had allowed him to foresee the results. However, the power that was coursing through Link gave him pause. He'd foreseen that Darunia would die. He'd foreseen that Link would obtain some horrifyingly intense power as a result, but he'd supposed that it would merely be a power of the pain of loss, much like the power that he himself had once possessed. He could see that power, and he could foresee the result of the match, but what puzzled him was that at that moment, one fact eluded him. He didn't know where the power came from.

"Maybe it comes from beyond this reality." the conflict master theorized, "Yes; it's the only explanation. Otherwise, with all my powers, I could have sensed its origin point. Still, maybe this is for the best. In absorbing this power into himself, Link has taken on a form that's almost godlike. If he uses that form when we fight, things might actually get interesting."

* * *

Link and his adversary reappeared in a land that was covered in smoldering ash. Nearby, the Hero of Time could see that a volcano was the cause, having erupted less than a week ago, and spewing out the mess of once-molten rock beneath their feet. The volcano was, as near as he could tell, at the very center of the island they were on, since indeed, it was an island, and not a very big one; no more than a few miles across. Link supposed that the island was probably a location on his world, though like many locations on his world, he'd never seen it personally.

Still, Link took the scenery into account, if only from a purely strategic standpoint. He didn't have time to stand around and admire the surroundings. He was determined to demolish his enemy with the righteous power of Hyrule at his back, and he was going to do it as quickly as possible.

Link rushed forward across the uneven rock as fast as he could, his sword in one hand, and his shield in the other. However, before he could reach his opponent, the old man tossed something forward; out of the palm of his hand, and a small, black creature, about the size and shape of a dog appeared on the ground in front of Link. At once, the dog had leapt through the air, directly at the hylian hero's face; a jump of at least ten feet. Link hadn't been prepared for an attack from that direction, so he had to stop for a moment, to swat the small creature aside with his shield. In a moment, it had collided with the ground nearby, where it splattered into a small, black puddle. However, just then, to his astonishment and dismay, the puddle re-formed itself back into the small, black dog again, looking completely unharmed by Link's assault.

"It's lovely, ain't it?" the old man asked Link aloud, as the dog re-formed, "I don't know what I'll call this type of monster. I discovered it just recently. It's too small and canine to be a daemon panther, but it has all the other attributes and powers of one. Maybe this is a new breed. Wouldn't it be something to think that I created a new breed of monster, that no one's ever heard of before?"

Link deflected another of the attacks of the tiny monster in a second, but was absolutely bewildered by what his enemy was saying. After all, if that old man could really create monsters, then that was going to make it complicated to fight him.

That was when Link saw what the old man was doing. In the blink of an eye, he'd wielded his scissors expertly, cutting off a strand of his hair and clipping it into three smaller sections. He then passed his hand over those sections in an unusual gesture, and threw them all forward, where they transformed into three additional black dogs. At that point, Link finally understood. The secret was in the old man's hair. Somehow, his hair contained some magic charm, so that when cut, he could transform it into monsters. Link could tell at once that the old man didn't hail from a peaceful world, or his hair would, he suspected, have been far longer.

The Hero of Time also supposed that the old man must have had some means of controlling those monsters once he'd created them, and throughout the fight, he never saw anything to contradict that. The monsters always did precisely what their master wanted them to do.

First, though, Link had to deal with the dogs, and since the blunt impact of his shield hadn't slain the first one, he knew that he'd have to fight them not as dogs, but as monsters.

The blade of the Master Sword sliced cleanly through the air, cleaving one monster dog, and giving Link time that he needed to dodge the other three. He then sliced through a second, while it was still in mid-air, and stabbed a third once it had landed, while blocking the continuing attacks of the last one. When there was only one left, Link had little difficulty in finishing it off. The just powers of the Master Sword could, he knew, destroy those monsters beyond any ability that they might have had to regenerate.

However, just as Link turned to face the old man, he realized that he'd made a mistake. Those dogs hadn't been an attack force; they'd been a mere diversion. Before Link, there stood over a dozen massive beasts, each one made from a full strand of hair, and each one, no doubt, with their own unique powers.

Link paused for only a moment to fasten on his hover-boots, then with the great power of Hyrule shining all around him, took to the air, just barely dodging a beam that came from the eyes of the first monster; an fifteen-foot, insect-like creature. Link then fired off a series of blasts from his weapon, demolishing three of the monsters (a large, red dinosaur, a hippogryph, and a green blob) and landed behind the group. The insect and half a dozen others fired at him with all kinds of magical attacks, made from electricity, ice, fire, and some kinds of energy he'd never seen before, but again, he dodged the constant barrage, and was able to jam his sword into the eye of the insect by climbing onto its back. Link's next leap took him to a twenty-foot tall wolfos, which fired flames from its eyes. It was a fast monster, but Link's skills with the sword made up for his speed deficiency in that case. The wolf's claws couldn't get past his defenses, and as the shield on his back protected him against attacks from behind, he plunged the Master Sword directly forward, into the flaming attack, and watched as it was deflected back to its source, blinding the huge wolf. In a moment, Link had driven his sword into its back as well, finishing the creature off.

A large, white tiger leapt at him next, striking out with pink beams from its eyes. Link had never seen an attack like that, so he decided not to find out what it did, and dodged to the left, before firing a light arrow into the creature's belly. More attacks made from radiant energy assailed Link from behind, but he quickly deflected them all with his sword, and started firing sword beams again. One monster, resembling a phoenix, was downed by one of his beams, while another; a black turtle, escaped the same fate by ducking into its shell. Suddenly, however, as Link defeated an eighth creature; a demon-like beast with huge, black wings, he started to notice that the number of monsters he was fighting was only growing greater.

"This whole thing is incredibly amusing," Link heard his enemy shout above the din of that horrifying battle, "but believe me; you'll run out of juice before I run out of hair."

However, at that point, Link felt like slapping himself. All that time, he'd seen the foes he was faced with as just that, but they weren't foes at all; they were weapons. What skilled warrior would waste his time, after all, trying to destroy his enemy's sword?

With new direction guiding his thoughts, Link swung his sword in a wide arc, releasing a huge beam, which sliced a full five large monsters cleanly in half. Then, he leapt forward, dodging and blocking the attacks of the remaining creatures, as he sped towards his destination, emerging from the crowd of gigantic beasts, and barreling straight towards the old man. In mere moments, Link had grabbed him by the neck, and was holding him in the air, feeling gratified to see that there was fear all over his enemy's face.

"No!" the aged fighter screamed, "Stop!"

"If you're so powerful, why would you be scared of me?" Link asked almost mockingly, "I'll tell you why. It's because you're nothing!"

With those words, Link tossed the old man to the ground, and held his sword just above the older fighter's neck.

"By using enough hairs, you could create any powerful fighter you wanted to," Link noted, voicing his observations at last, "but you've made the mistake of thinking that makes you a great fighter yourself. When it comes to your own physical defense, you're still just a wrinkled, old man. Honestly, I haven't faced anyone as weak as you since this entire conflict began, and..."

As Link said that, however, he paused, and the light vanished from his body, as he took a deep breath. It seemed, indeed, as if he was deliberately releasing the power of Hyrule, and in only another second, he put the Master Sword away as well. It was only then that Link continued to speak, though his words didn't seem to be terrifying the old man any less.

"I could beat you without the power of Hyrule at my back. In fact, I could win without using any of my weapons or magic spells. I could probably kill you with my bare hands alone, but you're so weak, that despite what your teammate did to my sworn brother, I'm willing to offer you a chance to avoid a rather painful death."

The old man trembled helplessly as Link spoke. His monsters had long since stopped in their tracks; frozen, and without the will of the old man to make them attack. They were just like lifeless puppets.

"First," Link said, his expression darkening, "I want you to start talking, and I'm going to listen very carefully. You'd better pray to whatever god your species believes in that I like what I hear. If I decide that I do, you'll surrender and return to your team..."

The old man trembled like a leaf in a hurricane, as the sun of the world they were on dipped into the evening, casting the shadow of the volcano on him, though he barely noticed that shadow, compared to the shadow of the Hero of Time.

* * *

A few minutes later, Link rejoined his team with a grim look on his face. He seemed to have gotten everything he could out of that particular fight, although he still wasn't happy, and it wasn't hard to tell why.

"I take it by the fact that he's still alive, that you got the information you wanted." Stalflare observed, indicating the old man who was stumbling back to his team under some very dark looks from the others.

"Yes." Link replied, "His name is Jerap, and he just told me a very interesting story."

With those words, Link continued, spinning the tale of Jerap and his world.

"You see, Jerap is from a world they refer to only as 'the world' because they aren't aware of any other worlds there, and they don't waste time in speculation. Their world has, since its first eras, been fixated on a constant, pounding rage, and desire for greater power. They have no moral philosophy of any sort, and consider all such concepts more complicated than necessary. They live solely by strength, and wield their power almost constantly against everyone who seeks to make a name for themselves by trying to defeat them. Their lives, and the lives of all the people on their world are spent in constant battle with one another, whenever they're not trying to conquer or destroy some recently-discovered, peaceful race."

"My lord!" Stalflare exclaimed, "They're worse than the earthlings!"

"That's up for debate." Link suggested, however, "The intensity of their sins is greater, but it's also better organized. Not one of them would choose to change their style of living if they had the choice, and the powers they've inherited from that lifestyle are, in most cases, pretty incredible. Jerap also told me about the powers of the others."

Quickly, Link related what he'd learned. The funny little man apparently had a power of transformation, as did the woman in black. The large beast had some kind of power that made him almost invulnerable, but the thing that really got Link's attention was the bald man. Jerap had told Link that the bald man was meant, not only to be invincible, but to one day be like a god. He'd also given Link a list of seemingly-unrelated powers, which the bald man apparently possessed, but Link had a feeling that there was something Jerap still wasn't telling him.

"Whatever." Ruto said, "I'm going next. Your fight may have been the easiest this time around. We can't just assume the rest of them are going to be as weak as Jerap, and after what you've told us about the nature of their world, I think I can understand what went through Scott's head. Right now, I think I'm totally justified in giving this next fight all I've got."

With those words, Ruto stepped up to the teleporter, and there, she was met by the woman dressed in black.

"I'm Indigo," the woman said, her eyes turning pitch black in that instant, so that Ruto could have sworn she was looking into an abyss, "and I hope you have your affairs in order."

"I'm Ruto." Ruto simply replied just a briefly, scowling at her enemy. Moments later, the two stepped into their respective teleporters and vanished.

* * *

Ruto found herself on an island of about half a mile across. It was covered with trees and ferns near the beach, and with hills and a few old structures on the inner parts of the island, which seemed to have been made for rituals of worship. The piece of ground that Ruto was standing on was covered in rocks bigger than her fists, apparently designed to be arranged into some kind of symbol. She wasn't terribly near the beach, but her running speed was impressive, and she knew that she could reach it in a few minutes if she had to.

For a moment, Ruto couldn't even see her enemy, when suddenly, she heard a sound from underneath her, and on instinct, leapt several yards into the air; a leap that took all her strength, given that it wasn't made from the water.

Beneath her loomed a massive hand, the size and mass of an entire person, and Ruto looked at it in horror as it rose up towards her. She knew that her powers would be severely limited as long as she was on land, and being in mid-leap would make it very hard to dodge such an attack, but she had to do something.

Twisting around in mid-air, Ruto began channeling electricity through her skin, just as the hand grabbed her. For a moment, it convulsed in shock and pain, then dropped her, and she was able to break her fall with some tree branches nearby. In the end, she'd received only minor scrapes, which didn't hamper her ability to run, so that was what she did, dashing top-speed across the island. However, as she ran, Ruto could hear a slithering noise behind her, and was almost afraid to look back. In a few more moments, she knew, she'd be at the ocean, and then, she'd have a chance.

As she reached the beach, Ruto sensed that something was about to pounce on her from behind, and ducked almost without thinking, then leapt forward. In doing so, she found that she'd dodged two blue tentacles, which were attacking from the forest. They weren't very long, but they looked quite powerful. Ruto could see at once that the defeat of her enemy would have to come in the element that granted her the greatest strength.

In moments, Ruto was underwater again, in the center of a clear, cool sea, and she felt her powers growing. She rose from the water on a controlled fountain, spinning through the air with both hands up, as though to celebrate the very fact of being alive. At that point, Ruto was at her peak, and her enemy would have to use her true powers if she wanted to win.

That, however, was the first time that Ruto had truly seen her enemy since their arrival. There on the beach stood Indigo, and she seemed to almost to be made of sand. Her entire body had changed, and her arms were divided into six tentacles, which stretched outward, and lashed back and forth violently. Ruto had hoped, at first, that that was all she could do, but deep down, she doubted it.

Swiftly, Indigo rushed forward to the water, and Ruto, a little confused, summoned up a large wave to sweep over her enemy. However, although that would have been enough to fell any normal foe, Indigo didn't seem to have been beaten. In fact, she was nowhere to be seen. Then, suddenly, Ruto realized that something was wrong. The waves beneath her were calming down, and changing direction; refusing to obey her anymore. Quickly, she dove back beneath the waves, and stared in horror, as her enemy appeared before her again, that time seeming to be made from water. Indigo said nothing at that point, though; she just smiled. Ruto could tell that she'd transformed at the very moment when the water had touched her, and she was even more certain that Indigo was responsible for the waves not reacting like they normally did, but in a moment, a series of sharp impacts struck Ruto from all sides, and she was thrown back against the sand.

"You got stronger when you hit the water," Ruto could hear Indigo say from all around her, "but that can't last forever. When I touched the water, I gained water-based powers as well. As a person who can already shape any part of themselves into whatever they want, that only gave me yet another advantage. I'm sure this will be enough to defeat you, though, now that water is your enemy, instead of your friend."

Ruto felt another blast hit her right in the face just then, though, and was knocked right out of the water, and onto the beach. She felt some of her strength beginning to slip away, and crawled back towards the water on instinct, however, just in time to see a small fist made of water appear right in front of her, and hit her in the nose. It didn't hurt too much physically, but it was obvious that Indigo didn't even consider Ruto a threat by that point. She was taunting her.

Quickly stumbling back to her feet, Ruto dashed forward, but found that the water had changed its consistency; turning into a sheet of some solid, transparent substance. She knew, however, that if she wanted to fight Indigo's water control, she had to get back underwater.

Summoning every bit of electric power remaining in her body, Ruto channeled it all directly into her fingertips, and in a moment, she could hear the scream of pain and rage coming from Indigo, as hundreds of volts of electricity filled the water beneath her. Ruto could simply have absorbed it into her body, but Indigo, she suspected, couldn't. Caught between two elements, which, by their nature, often conflicted, she'd either be torn apart, or would ride one element to its final conclusion. For the moment, Ruto had to suppose that the latter had happened, though Indigo's control over the waves had lessened enough to allow the zora girl back underwater; at least for a moment. That time, however, she knew that she had to hurry and focus; to try to override Indigo's control, before she could get her bearings back.

Because of her shape-changing powers, Indigo regenerated quickly, and was soon on the attack again, but that time, Ruto was struggling for control, using all of her attention to keep Indigo from wielding the water around her as a weapon. For a few seconds, the two struggled against one another; each using their formidable powers of control, before, at almost the same time, they started to realize the truth.

"We're exactly equal." Indigo muttered aloud.

"Then we can't let the shape or structure of the waves determine the victor of this fight." Ruto observed, "We'll have to fight this battle the right way; one on one."

In response to that mutual realization, Ruto and Indigo relaxed their efforts simultaneously, and each seemed to stretch for a moment, preparing for the real fight. Suddenly, however, Ruto darted forward and landed a strong punch right into Indigo's stomach, but to her dismay, she found that her enemy had transformed into some kind of goopy material, which didn't seem injured at all by her invincible blow, and furthermore, got some slimy substance all over her fist.

In another second, a hundred small, pin-like protrusions stuck out of Indigo's arms, and Ruto was lucky to have skin so durable. The living weapons did manage to penetrate her flesh at a few points, but never did much damage beyond that. Ultimately, it amounted to a few minor scratches, which began healing at once.

Still, Ruto had to face the fact that regular punches were going to have absolutely no effect against that foe. She'd have to think up some other way of damaging or trapping Indigo. Impacts didn't work, water didn't hurt her, and electricity hadn't damaged her too badly. If she really was invulnerable, then holding her in one position was just about the only option she had, but how, she wondered, could she trap somebody who could not only change their shape, but merge with any matter they got close enough to?

Using a short jolt of electricity to keep her foe at bay, Ruto dove down to the bottom of the ocean as fast as she could, and began to dig an underwater passage, until she found the place where the sand ended, and the bedrock began. Swiftly, her irresistible fists drove downward into the stone, cracking it into a hundred small rocks, and she began at once to toss those rocks up into the main section of the ocean. She heard a noise, like a grape being dropped into a swamp at that point, though, and knew that one of the rocks had collided with her enemy; probably doing no damage, so she hurried to finish her work as fast as she could.

In a few moments, over a hundred rocks the size of small cars lay on the sea floor, while Indigo drifted back and forth nearby, waiting for Ruto to show herself. She didn't have long to wait, though. In mere moments, Ruto rocketed up out of the underwater hole, with a massive boulder in one hand, and threw it right at Indigo.

Indigo, it seemed, hadn't been prepared for that kind of assault, and was knocked to the sea floor by the projectile, but she wasn't injured. Almost at once, her entire body seemed to melt, and slide out from under the rock, but Ruto had already grabbed another, and with careful aim, she tossed it right into the path of the slithering monstrosity. For nearly three minutes, that continued; Ruto tossing rocks so hard into the sand, that there was almost no space left, and Indigo sliding in and out, finding ways around it. At last, though, the zora fighter threw one last rock on top of her collection, finishing something that looked roughly like an igloo made of stone, but without a doorway out. She looked it over at that point, surveying her trap with a satisfied look in her eyes. Maybe, she realized, Indigo could escape that trap by transforming her body into sand or stone, but in doing so, she'd have to relinquish control of the waters to Ruto, and leave herself open to being swept away. The former zora princess had her trapped, and in a few moments...

Suddenly, however, there was a sharp, stabbing pain in Ruto's back, and she started to go limp. Her close connection with the water was keeping her alive, but she'd lapsed into unconsciousness almost instantly.

Ruto had gravely underestimated her enemy during that last attack. One of Indigo's arms had slid down into the sand, and then back up again nearby. Then, using a sharp piece of rock, or perhaps several sharp pieces, she'd managed to impale Ruto right through the scales of her back when she began to relax. Even underwater, Ruto wasn't completely invulnerable, but her wounds couldn't heal up unless the stone spike was removed from her back...

* * *

Ruto was conscious again almost at once. The stone was gone, and the water still clung to her skin. She could feel the hole in her back sealing itself, as she watched Indigo return to join the rest of her team. She was horrified, however. At that stage of the conflict, losing a fight was a devastating blunder. How, she wondered, could she have been so careless? Still, for the time being, there wasn't anything she could really do about it, and if she could even make it back to Hyrule alive, she'd be very lucky.

"This looks bad." Stalflare commented, as Ruto rejoined her team, still badly injured from her fight, "One of us may need to make a kill in order to win this one."

"She did all she could." Link said at once, coming to Ruto's defense, "These enemies aren't like anything we've fought before. They've been fighting for their lives since they were children, and they're much more combat-savvy than anyone we've faced. If it weren't against the rules, I'd try to tackle the other three myself."

"Well, it is against the rules," Stalflare reminded him, "and even if it weren't, I'd insist on fighting anyway, even if it meant fighting you first. These warriors may just represent the last great test of my powers, and I don't want to pass that up."

"As long as the rules are on my side, I'm going next, though." Byrna interrupted, "It's been a while since I fought anyone all the way through to the end. I have a feeling this next fight may be one of the defining moments in my life."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Zelda thought, however, her face still wet, and her thoughts still consumed by the unfairness of their situation, and what had happened to Darunia.

* * *

"The heavily-armed one is stepping forward now." the bald man known as Sponge told his teammates, "I want Mr. Gregory to take her."

"Hey!" the little man in the suit and hat exclaimed, "I wanted the blonde!"

"I know." Sponge said testily, "But she's not for you. Your form must not be adequate, or else you'd know that she has the power to shut down people's minds."

"I could handle that!" Mr Gregory replied stubbornly.

"With some preparation; yes you could." Sponge admitted, "But I can handle it better. She's mine. Necks will take the sorcerer. The one in the armor is yours. Do you think that's unfair?"

Sponge had stressed that last comment very carefully, as if to ensure that Mr. Gregory understood its meaning, however. There was a note of menace, in fact, in his voice.

"N-no." Mr. Gregory replied slowly, "It's fair. I'm just a little disappointed."

"Understandable." Sponge replied, "Now do as I say."

Mr. Gregory continued to grumble, however, as he stepped up to the teleporter and looked up into Byrna's eyes. He could tell at once that killing that female wouldn't be easy, but he knew that he'd win. Mere weapons, after all, couldn't overcome the power that he possessed.

"Name's Mr. Gregory," He said, "and you're lucky you got me, lady. I don't plan to kill ya."

"Lucky me." Byrna replied with something a bit like contempt, "I'm Byrna, and I do plan to kill you."

"Well, everybody's got problems." Mr. Gregory said, in a somewhat annoying voice, "Still, I hope ya change yer mind. We could have tea after the fight or something, if neither one of us dies."

Byrna was absolutely speechless. Either that funny-looking little man was mocking her, or he was trying to ask her out. In a way, Byrna hoped it was the latter. She didn't think she could like anyone who spent so much time in anger, but it would still be easier to be flattered than mocked.

With those thoughts drifting through her mind, Byrna stepped into her team's teleporter and vanished.

* * *

The place where Byrna found herself was a large field, but not a field of grass. The field beneath her feet was covered with some very pretty-looking mushrooms, and it stretched as far as she could see. It was a cloudy, damp day, so she suspected that the fungi at her feet would probably flourish.

Quickly, Byrna said "seek," and for the second time at that conflict, she took a good look at the life-force of her enemy.

However, Byrna froze at once, in shock over what she saw. The little man in front of her was barely even visible to her scope, because he was surrounded by a life-force aura as wide as a house, which reached up into the sky for miles, like an enormous pillar. She'd never seen so much life energy in one being, and two questions went through her head at that moment.

"How is that possible?" and "How can I beat something like that?"

"Aw, don't feel too bad." Mr. Gregory said in his usual, grating voice, obviously having noticed the expression of shock and dismay on his enemy's face, "It may look like I've got a lot of power, but... Well, the thing is, there's only one way I can use it."

Byrna had a feeling that she wasn't going to like what Mr. Gregory's single superhuman power was, so she rushed at him quickly, in an attempt to finish the fight. However, just as she struck out with her armored fists, there was a bizarre popping noise, and before her stood a massive man, covered in stone. Byrna's fist made contact with his chest, but the only thing damaged was her gauntlet. Quickly, Byrna drew back, feeling bewildered, shocked, and almost questioning her own senses.

"Looks like this is leading up to a stoning." Mr. Gregory remarked. His form had changed, but his voice was just the same; grating, scratchy and annoying. Swiftly, he spun around and punched her in the stomach with a fist that was about three feet wide. Byrna went flying across the field in seconds, tearing up mushrooms as she went, until finally, she came to a stop. At that point, she knew that she had to take a different tack.

"Fine." Byrna thought to herself, "Let's see if he can fly."

At once, the jets of air under Byrna's feet swept aside several hundred mushrooms, as she rocketed upward into the sky, but a moment later, there was Mr. Gregory in the form of an enormous bird with a long neck. He was flying quite well, and obviously having a blast.

"Aw, don't be soar." Mr. Gregory quipped, "As you can see, I can change myself into anything or anybody I want, but that don't mean we can't have fun."

Suddenly, Mr. Gregory's claws grew to nearly three times their original size, and slashed out, coming very close to taking Byrna's arm off. Fortunately, she was able to swing around to one side, avoiding the initial attack, and soon, was zipping off in another direction, but in the next moment, Mr. Gregory was after her again, that time firing rocket-like flames from behind the backs of his feathers.

"This is nuts!" Byrna thought to herself as she tried desperately to evade the bizarre shape-shifter, "First I'm fighting a funny little man who wants to court me, then a giant made of stone, and now he's a bird that can transform into anything he wants, even when it makes no sense!"

Mr. Gregory laughed and hooted, as he literally flew circles around Byrna for a moment, but then, she began using the flame-throwers on her arms, and received a satisfying, "Hey, watch it!" from her enemy in response. A moment later, he was in flames, plummeting downward through the air, to the bed of mushrooms underneath.

As Mr. Gregory landed, however, there was another "pop," and Byrna saw an enormous phoenix rising up to meet her. At once, she switched directions with her rockets, and armed her energy weapons. If he wasn't going to be downed by fire or physical blows, she decided, then she'd just have to destroy him.

Moments later, the entire area was glowing with power, and whole sections of the ground were vanishing, as ionized energy destroyed the bonds that held the surrounding matter in one piece. The fire bird that had been chasing Byrna was full of holes in moments, and its eyes were the size of dinner plates.

Suddenly, however, there was another pop, and once again, Mr. Gregory was a little man, sitting on Byrna's shoulder and laughing to himself.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed, still apparently getting a kick out of Byrna's attempts to injure him, "Looks like your plan of attack is full of holes!"

Then, Mr. Gregory laughed and laughed and laughed, and Byrna didn't know what to do. Nothing seemed to be working against him.

Could she vaporize his entire body at once, Byrna wondered? Would that work? It might, so after considering it for a moment, she decided to give it a try.

Aiming her weapon again, she fired point-blank at the tiny man, knocking him from her shoulder, and continued to fire as he plummeted downward, and she dove after him. She couldn't tell if he was in pain or not, but parts of him continued to vanish, and soon, even the ground beneath them was nothing but a massive crater; its very soil torn to microscopic pieces by the energy impulses. Byrna couldn't see her enemy anywhere, but she was still suspicious. Looking carefully around, she listened with all her power for the popping noise that would herald the return of her foe. Where was he, she wondered? Had he been totally destroyed? Had she won?

However, Just as Byrna was starting to think that she might have succeeded, an enormous thorn sprung up under her feet with a popping noise, and she reeled back, struggling to aim her weapon again.

That time, however, it proved impossible. That thorn and several others had punctured her weapon, and she could feel its energy spilling out into her arm. In a moment more, she could feel something large and heavy come down on her arm as well, stopping up the rampant energy, and she'd blacked out from the pain in seconds.

* * *

Mr. Gregory stood up and looked sadly at Byrna, at that point. His body still wasn't completely healed from her last attack, and most of his right side was missing, and would need to be re-grown, but for some reason, it still gave him a bad feeling to have beaten that woman. She'd gotten close; really close. When she'd been trying to vaporize him, only three of his cells had survived, and it had taken him quite a while time to grow back from those. She'd almost killed him, in fact. Still, he knew he couldn't kill her in return. His world depended on him, but Byrna was simply too beautiful and courageous. She fought like a fury herself, in a way. Mr. Gregory simply couldn't bring himself to finish her off.

* * *

However, when the two of them reappeared, there were mixed reactions among their teams. Stalflare frowned, but seemed more concerned, at the moment, with how their team was doing in general. He knew that Byrna's failure wasn't a good sign. Suddenly, there was only one way that their team could win.

* * *

Sponge smiled broadly as he greeted Mr. Gregory, who was just returning from his fight victorious.

"You've done well." Sponge said with a smile, "This is just the way I planned it."

"I expected you to blow up at me for not killing her." Mr. Gregory said suspiciously.

"Under other circumstances, I might have." Sponge replied, "But it's impossible for them to win now."

"What?" Mr. Gregory asked, suddenly looking confused, "What do you mean?"

Sponge lowered his voice at that point, however, so that the large monster couldn't hear.

"Even if the sorcerer beats and kills Necks, the only way they can even tie the score is if the princess defeats me, and she'd have to kill me to win."

"Ah, I see." Mr. Gregory remarked with a grin, understanding, even as the last of his body finished growing back, "Since nothing can kill you..."

Sponge simply nodded in reply to that, with a very large grin, then turn and barked a command to the giant lizard, "Necks, you're up."

The large monster seemed to understand quite well the instructions that it had been given, because it stepped up towards the teleport platforms in seconds.

* * *

As Link was taking care of Byrna, Stalflare stepped onto the platform himself. He'd shared his worries with Zelda, and he knew that both of them would have to completely vanquish their enemies if their team wanted to win. For his sake, he wasn't worried. That mindless brute before him hardly seemed as though it was fit to fight a true greide zwooda, but he had no desire to take any chances. He'd need to stay on his toes during his fight, and stay on the lookout for any sign of his foe's special powers.

Feeling that it wouldn't be appropriate to introduce himself to a trained animal like Necks, Stalflare merely stepped into his team's teleporter, and watched the other teleporter expand to fit the massive beast, wondering where they'd end up.

* * *

Stalflare hadn't expected his fight to take place in a cave, considering the size of his enemy. The cave itself was obviously man-made, and was a huge, dome-like structure with crystal formations lining its walls and ceiling. It was about a hundred feet high, so even Necks was able to fit fairly well inside of it, but there wasn't a lot of room to move around, what with all the razor-sharp crystals on every side. Stalflare, however, didn't want to use his full powers until he was sure that he could win, and Necks was probably tougher than it looked, so he stood in one place, and waited for his enemy to strike.

As expected, that didn't take too long. Necks lumbered forward much faster than Stalflare would have given it credit for, and struck out with a high-speed headbutt. Not prepared for such a quick attack, Stalflare was knocked backwards, where his back scraped against the crystals on the wall. However, neither the crystals, nor the initial impact of his foe had drawn even a drop of blood from Stalflare, and although his back had begun to itch a little, that was the worst of the damage that the attack had done, really.

Stalflare could tell that Necks hadn't hit him with all its might. The monster could probably have hit him with about twice or three times that amount of strength, but it still wouldn't have been able to kill Stalflare, even if it could have summoned ten times its maximum strength.

"You know," Stalflare remarked aloud, "when this fight began, I thought to myself that a brute like you wouldn't even be able to scratch me, and I was absolutely right, so rather than embarrass you for longer than I have to, I'll just finish the fight here and now."

With that, a flaming aura appeared around Stalflare, and shot upwards, engulfing the head of the monstrous beast, and incinerating it completely. Soon, the huge body of the monster collapsed to the floor of the cavern; a body with a mere charred mark where its head and neck had recently been. Stalflare looked around for a moment, expecting to be taken back to the teleport area at any second, but fate, it seemed, wasn't being quite that kind to him.

* * *

"I don't like this." Link thought, as he watched Stalflare's battle on the ceiling of the teleport area, "If that thing was really so weak, how could it have survived into the finals?"

* * *

Sponge, meanwhile, continued to grin.

"That poor, arrogant sorcerer." he thought, "He still has no idea what he's really up against."

* * *

"Something's wrong." Zelda noticed aloud, as she watched the battle, "That lizard is down, but his life-energy hasn't vanished. In fact, it's still changing shape."

* * *

Stalflare couldn't see life-energy with his eyes like Zelda could, but there was one thing he did notice. The body of Necks was convulsing a good deal more than it should have been; especially around what had once been the base of its neck. Suddenly, there was a noise like a hundred thousand giant beetles being squashed all at once, and Necks was back on its feet; its head perfectly intact. Not only that, but it had grown a new one in addition. However, the new head looked nothing like the old one. It had a horn on its forehead, and was red all over, with fangs lining its mouth. Stalflare could hardly believe what he was seeing.

A moment later, the second head opened its mouth, and a blast of fire shot out from it in his direction. Stalflare moved so fast that the monster could hardly see him, dodging the attack, and two more like it; seeming almost to fade in and out of the creature's visual range, though by that point, he had a look of concern on his face. Suddenly, Stalflare knew what made that monster so powerful, but beating something like that was going to be a challenge.

Sparks flew through the air, and fumes rose from the floor, as the blasts of intense flame melted both stone and crystal wherever they went. Stalflare could tell that the flames were just as hot as his own; as hot, indeed, as the ones he'd used to blow the creature's head off just a while ago. That much he should have expected, but the creature was using the flame blasts in conjunction with its other head, forcing Stalflare to move to the left in order to dodge it, so it wasn't his fault when the monster's tail whipped around, and knocked him into another rock wall, leaving a seven-foot crater behind in the solid stone.

Necks was using its full power by that point, and Stalflare was confident that he could defeat it again if he had to, but what would happen if he blew off another head? Would he be able to defeat it that way, he wondered, and if not, what other tactics could he bring to bear against it?

Stalflare shot forth from the hole in the wall with every bit of his astounding strength and speed, and started shooting flames out of his staff at the red head of the creature. As he'd expected, the flames fizzled out upon contact with the red head's scaly surface, so he spun the crystal globe on his staff, and fired a spell of ice instead. In moments, the red head was frozen solid, and before the creature's main head could react, Stalflare had shattered the frozen head with his fists.

However, after that moment, another thing happened that Stalflare had hoped to avoid. The red head of the creature grew back, and a third head sprouted, that one blue, and moving much faster than the others. At once, it began firing some kind of liquid substance from its mouth, which turned to ice almost at once, and that time, dodging it was a far more difficult matter, thanks to the new head's increased speed.

In fact, dodging the ice blasts was so difficult, that Stalflare had to focus all his attention on that alone, and didn't see the flames until it was too late.

* * *

"What in Gerudi's name are you two doing here?" Stalflare asked, showing his rage openly in front of the two new arrivals.

"We were invited here," Koume said with some pride, "invited by King Ganondorf himself. We're here to witness his coronation, before we begin our service to him."

The light of the desert sun passed in through the windows of the clay-made ceremony hall, reflecting off a few trophies, which had been hung on the walls, but Stalflare paid no heed to his surroundings, because he was too furious. All he cared about was the two witches, who floated in the air in front of him.

"When Ganondorf was a child, he would never have associated with the likes of you." Stalflare barked angrily.

"He does now." Kotake simply observed.

"Yes." Stalflare replied, however, after just a moment, "He does. I have a feeling you're behind that as well, somehow. I know he's your master, and much mightier than the two of you could ever become, but I'm sure you've corrupted him somehow."

"He's sure we've corrupted him, Koume." Kotake observed.

"He should know more about that than anyone, Kotake." the other witch replied.

"Don't talk like I'm not here!" Stalflare shouted at that point, his rage only continuing to grow, but neither one of the witches was doing the courtesy of looking at him by then.

"He knows he still can't overcome us, Kotake."

"Indeed. That's what's really upsetting him, Koume."

Stalflare grimaced, as he realized the truth of their words. His training with King Ganondorf had made him powerful enough to rival one of them, but not to overcome them both; not yet. If he'd been able to kill them, however, he would have, then and there.

"Lord Ganondorf can overcome us, Kotake."

"Yes. He's not such a disappointment as this one, Koume."

* * *

"He's not such a disappointment."

A disappointment. Disappointment! Disappointment!

Stalflare screamed, as he rose to his feet again. His visions of the past had always driven him on, and they continued to do so in that very battle. Though every inch of his skin was scorched and charred, Stalflare got back up, ignoring the constant pain that even simple movements like that brought him. The pain didn't matter to him anymore. Only one thing mattered.

"I'm not a disappointment!"

With every ounce of strength left in his body, Stalflare rose up once more into the air, and flew forward with the speed of a bullet, zipping past the struggling heads of his enemy, until at last, he found himself on the creature's back. He could feel that his magic was being used up in an attempt to hold his body together, but there was one thing more that he could do. Just as blasts of ice and fire were about to strike him full-on in the face, Stalflare drove his fist downward into the beast's back, causing the creature's heads to shoot upward in agony. Again and again Stalflare punched downward into the creature's back, not even noticing when the monster's spine broke under his blows, and ignoring the way that his burned fists cracked, as they delivered punch after punch. He only stopped punching when his enemy vanished from beneath him, and he found himself kneeling down on his team's teleport platform, seconds before he keeled over, and lapsed into unconsciousness from the pain.

* * *

The strong, careful arms of Link carried Stalflare away from the pad, and carefully laid him down with the rest of his team just a moment later. When he looked at Stalflare's wounds, even knowing that the people of Hyrule had the power to heal him, Link was filled with utter disgust and determination. One way or another, he vowed, that was going to be the last time. One way or another, Link was determined to make sure that he and the Conflict Master could settle things alone, if only Zelda could win her fight, and Hyrule's team could win the tournament.

* * *

Of course, Stalflare had bought Hyrule a chance for victory by slaying his enemy, but Zelda had to finish off their last foe if she wanted her people and her world to survive. She knew that she had to do her part too.

"This is it." Hyrule's princess thought to herself, as she stepped up to the teleport platform, opposite the grinning, bald man.

"They call me Sponge." the man explained, speaking to Zelda through his irritating smile, "and everything's gone exactly the way I planned, so far. I didn't know if Necks would be able to beat your sorcerer, but at this point, it doesn't matter. All I have to do is kill you, and my team will be the winners of this conflict."

"All I have to do is kill you, and my team will claim victory too." Zelda replied, drawing a chuckle from her enemy.

"Right." Sponge remarked, his smile, if anything, growing wider, "This is the kind of fight I like best of all."

For a moment, Zelda gave Sponge a look of absolute disgust, but she could only hope that she could give him something worse, as they stepped into their respective teleporters for the last fight of the conflict.

* * *

For a moment, Zelda just blinked. She could hardly believe her eyes. It was the second time that she'd found herself fighting an opponent in a place that she recognized, but that place was far closer to home. In fact, she and Sponge had re-appeared in the very courtyard of Hyrule Castle.

Fortunately, the sun was starting to set, and Zelda could tell that she'd be able to use at least some of her shadow skills, but for some reason, Sponge looked the same way he always did; totally confident, as though nothing in the world could defeat him. Zelda tried once more to determine why that was, but again, she found that a force of mental power equal to her own was making Sponge's mind unreadable somehow.

"You're wondering why I'm so confident." Sponge observed aloud, with a big smile on his face, "At this point, I have a library of abilities that can defeat someone like you easily, but I'd rather have you try to attack me first."

"Yeah." Zelda replied aloud, "I'll bet you would."

Zelda made no move to attack, however. In a fight like that, after all, rash action could be fatal.

Sponge seemed to wait for several seconds, but at last, he sighed and said, "Suit yourself."

Then, he relaxed his muscles for a moment, before adopting a very unusual fighting stance. Suddenly, Sponge stamped one foot against the ground, and Zelda had to leap into the air, as a powerful electric shock spread outwards along the ground in her direction. A moment later, Sponge was almost on top of her, but Zelda could see the electric aura around his body, and quickly dodged his blows, leaping away from him.

"Yes." Sponge said aloud as he continued to throw punches, "You could have won most of the battles I have."

Suddenly, the structure of the energy around Sponge's body changed again, and his feet changed their shape, becoming massive, bird-like talons. He rose up into the air, electricity crackling underneath him, as he zipped back and forth across the courtyard. Zelda, however, decided that the time had come to start using her special skills. With only a moment's thought, she leapt backwards and faded into the shadows.

"I don't think so." Zelda heard Sponge say, however, "You haven't seen a third of what I can do!"

As he said that, Sponge's eyes lit up like enormous searchlights, and his fists grew to nearly twice their size. Soon, he'd passed the intense beams of light emanating from his eyes across the shadows nearby, until he'd located Zelda. Then, the structure of his power began to change again.

In another moment, Zelda found herself in a telekinetic tug of war with her enemy. His mental powers were as great as hers, but she didn't dare to strike him directly with her mind, until she knew what she was dealing with. As she continued to fight him, however, Zelda prepared a different kind of defense.

A moment later, Sponge rushed forward with enormous speed, and both of his fists collided with her stomach. Their strength, and the skill with which they were wielded were incredible, and Zelda could feel that they also released a powerful electric shock as well. However, by that point, Zelda was protected by Nayru's Love, and the attacks of her enemy hadn't hurt her at all.

In another moment, Zelda's enemy touched one of the flowers in the courtyard, and it mutated into a massive beast, with a huge, gaping mouth, and powerful-looking teeth. It pounced on her in only a moment, but before Nayru's Love could wear off, Zelda had set it ablaze with a fire spell, and using the flames as cover, she retreated back into the shadows again.

Sponge had started looking around for her by that point, and his energy seemed to change shape again. Without a moment's hesitation, he'd soon transformed back into his original appearance, but it didn't seem as if he was giving up. In fact, he looked more confident than ever.

"You're clever to hide from me, but it won't do you any good." Sponge replied, "One of these days, our fight will have to end, and only I can claim victory in a fight like this."

"With the powers you've shown me so far," Zelda said aloud, her voice seeming to come from all directions at once, "I could destroy you with a third of my magic."

"You're welcome to try." Sponge said aloud, still looking around lazily, "It won't do you any good."

"I suppose I could use a spell against you." Zelda's voice rang out again, "But there are quite a few non-magical weapons that can perform roughly the same function."

Suddenly, Sponge felt a razor-sharp blade zip through the back of his neck, and cut several veins cleanly in half. The pain, for a moment, was horrible, as he started to go limp, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

"I don't understand." Zelda thought to herself as she continued watching her enemy carefully, though he seemed to have been so easily defeated, "Why did everyone think this fighter was so incredible?"

However, Zelda was soon fated to get her answer. No more than three seconds after she'd thrown her knife through his neck, Sponge was standing back up confidently again, as though nothing had happened. The wound in his neck was completely gone.

"Okay." Zelda said aloud, still not terribly impressed, "You heal really fast. Next time, I'll hit you when you're down."

"You still don't understand." Sponge replied aloud, still sounding completely confident, "There won't be a next time; not for those throwing knives of yours."

"We'll see about that." Zelda thought, and at once, she whipped three more knives out of her pack, and threw them at her enemy in a single motion. One struck his left leg, the second landed on his chest, and the third collided with his forehead.

However, something was wrong. The weapons that, mere moments before, had slit Sponge open like an old salmon had collided with him, but had absolutely no effect. They hadn't even penetrated his skin.

"Now, do you realize why you can't defeat me?" Sponge asked aloud, sounding almost bored, "I can heal from any attack, and once I do, I become invulnerable to it. Oh, yeah. There's one more advantage that I gain."

As Sponge said that, he held out his left forefinger, and a projectile precisely resembling Zelda's throwing knives flew forth from it, lodging itself in the wall that Zelda had been clinging to moments before. The princess of Hyrule gasped in shock and dismay, and had to start running, as Sponge began throwing knives at the place where he'd heard the gasping noise coming from.

"As I'm sure you've noticed," Sponge explained, "any attack used against me in battle becomes mine. When my body adapts to an attack, it doesn't just make me invulnerable to it; it gives me the power to use that attack or weapon for myself. This is why my powers are so varied and unrelated to one another. They don't even belong to me. They used to belong to my five opponents in this conflict."

Just like that, Zelda saw why she hadn't been able to read Sponge's thoughts after that first attempt, why he'd seemed so confident, and why he'd wanted her to attack first. If she'd attacked with all of her powers from the start of the fight, he would have become invincible to her spells and weapons very quickly, and beaten her very easily.

However, even though that hadn't happened, Zelda's mind was racing. How, she wondered, could she defeat someone who was immune to all forms of attack? Zelda knew that she could take him out in one move, if only she could stop him from healing, but she wasn't sure how to do that.

Pressing her fingertips together, Zelda swiftly began to chant a spell. She knew that the noise would draw Sponge's attention, but she had to risk it. A mere moment later, the ground beneath them began to give off an odiferous scent, and Sponge knew at once what she'd done. He grinned, as she threw a fire spell at the ground, igniting the dirt that she'd just turned into gunpowder.

The explosion demolished walls, killed flowers, and destroyed marble tiles at the center of the garden, but Zelda was high up, away from it, clinging to one of the towers of the castle with her grappling hook. When the explosion began to die down, she lowered herself into the garden, to search for the remains of her enemy.

However, what she saw then struck fear into her heart. There was Sponge, and the left side of his body was quickly regenerating out of a deep, red mass.

"You blew me into pieces with that one," Sponge remarked aloud, still sounding confident, though no longer bored, "But I can regenerate no matter how thoroughly you think you've destroyed me. My healing powers aren't even connected to my physical form."

For a moment, Zelda couldn't bring herself to do anything. She was very afraid by that point, but after a few seconds had passed, her shiekah training kicked in again, and she forced herself to slow down and think. If his healing powers weren't in his physical body, she thought, where were they? There could, she realized, only be one solution.

Sponge looked around through the deepening shadows, intentionally choosing to prolong the fight by not using his searchlight vision anymore, but it was only forty-five seconds before he found Princess Zelda.

"There you are, my dear!" Sponge exclaimed, as he leapt toward her, "My powers are enough to defeat you now!"

However, Zelda did have one last means of defending herself. Hoping and praying that her trick had worked, she shoved both hands against the ground, and the blazing dome of Din's Fire flew forth from her body. It was a flame hotter than anything that had ever been used on Sponge before, and even as the pain enveloped his body, charring his skin to a crisp, he chuckled. That attack could make him almost completely invulnerable to fire, and the power to shoot flames in all directions would certainly be useful. He seemed well aware that all he had to do was wait until he healed, and then continue the attack, so he waited, and waited.

Sponge waited for a while, but something had gone wrong. He could tell that he'd become invulnerable to flames, and that he could use that technique for himself, but for some reason, the burns all over his body weren't going away, and he could feel them eating away at his life, second after second.

"No!" Sponge shrieked, suddenly panicking for the very first time, "Why aren't I healing?"

Just then, Zelda was in front of him, and she held a glowing orb of energy in her hand, encased in a sparkling field of magic.

"This is why." Zelda explained coldly, "When you foolishly told me that your healing powers weren't physically-produced, I searched for a source of energy near your body, and I found this little creature. To some degree, it seems to be an extension of yourself, but it's also a mass of living energy. Apparently, it has only one function; it senses when your body is damaged, and heals you of all your injuries. A normal hylian couldn't have even seen it, but I know more about the workings of magic and energy than most people on my world. All I had to do was use my own life-force to form a sort of tempting mousetrap, to attract the energy creature and imprison it, and your powers of healing would stop working completely. It was simple, really. Of course, if you'd been able to kill me in the meantime, my spell would have been undone, and your full powers and invincibility would have been restored, so I feel I should thank you for giving me those extra forty-five seconds that I needed to set up my trap."

However, Sponge didn't reply, because his injuries had proved too much for him, and he was dead.

* * *

That was how, a moment later, Zelda reappeared, having secured the victory for her team. She hadn't been injured terribly, though she had suffered a few minor scrapes from Sponge's throwing knives, but the real reason why she wouldn't have been able to fight another battle was that her magic was almost totally drained. It was Link, and Link alone, who still had the power that he needed to fight again, if need be.

However, Zelda did have just enough physical strength left in her body to help her injured teammates to their team's exit. The moment that Link carried Ruto and Byrna across the exit line, another announcement was made, however. Hyrule had won the Conflict of Champions, and would have a chance to obtain the wish, but something told Link that there wouldn't be another team battle, as the Conflict Master had originally suggested. In a moment, his suspicions were confirmed, as he heard the voice of the Conflict Master, booming out once again from all directions.

"A decision has been reached. Instead of a team battle, the final match will be one-on-one; a single fight between myself and the leader of Hyrule's team. It'll take place in three hours; just enough time for him to get his remaining teammates to the healers of his planet. Don't be late, Hero of Time."

Link shuddered as he heard his title spoken so directly again. Somehow, he knew that that Conflict Master was looking for more than just who was the strongest. The matter was a personal one for him. He wanted Link to fight him, and he had since the conflict had first started.

* * *

It took less than an hour for Link to get his team to the hylian infirmaries, where mages and fairies began to heal their wounds. No one asked about Darunia. In fact, no one spoke about him at all. He was a chapter that they hoped not to have to mention. After all, if Link was successful, they might not even have to realize that he was dead.

It took Link less than one more hour to return alone to the teleport area, but he saw that the teleporters had been removed already. The figure of the evil Princess Zelda sat alone in the center of the area, watching Link like a hawk, but he didn't face her. It was the Conflict Master who interested him most; that person who, from the very start, had seemed invincible, and yet, he was willing to "fight" Link for some purpose. Why, Link wondered? Just to prove himself superior? What was his game? What were his motivations? More to the point, why was he being so fair? Link couldn't understand what was truly going on in his mind, and he had a feeling that he'd only find out by being patient, so after a moment, he sat down on his side of the teleport area and waited.

At the precise split-second indicated by the Conflict Master, there was a sound of screams and cheers from the people above. Whoever that Conflict Master was, he was their king, and a feared one at that. Link and the evil Zelda got to their feet simultaneously, as the door at the other end of the area opened, and the evil princess began her introduction.

"And now; the Master of Conflict; the Lord of Hyrule; the greatest representative of the forces of evil in any world, and the mightiest mortal in any universe. It's my distinct honor to welcome to this humble arena, the Dark Lord of Hyrule!"

Then, a figure stepped through the door on the opposite side of the arena, and Link's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. It couldn't be, he thought. That creature, who was responsible for the conflict; that individual who'd threatened entire realities with death... Link looked upon the familiar face of his new enemy with shock and awe...


	17. Pt2 Ch9 The Conflict Master

Chapter 9: The Conflict Master

* * *

...Because it was his own face. It was the face of Link; the Hero of Time, distorted by cruelty and madness. It was what Link's face would have been, if he'd been a cruel, wicked creature since the day of his birth. Link could barely believe his eyes.

The Conflict Master's hair and skin were basically the same color and shape as Link's, and he looked just as physically-fit. He also seemed to have similar equipment. His clothes, however, were a bit different. He wore no hat, but just a tattered, old, green shirt, colored a much darker green than Link's, and his pants were pitch black. His boots, in turn, seemed designed more as a type of armor than for comfort, like Link's. The evil Link's tunic was done up in the center by several thick, black cords, which wound around each other like a shoelace.

However, the most striking difference between he and Link was that he had a huge object slung across his torso like a longbow. It was big, golden, and it consisted of three sections. Link immediately understood where that evil creature had gotten his godlike powers from, the very moment that he saw it.

"You're wondering how I obtained the Triforce for myself, aren't you?" the Dark Link asked, drawing a mere nod from Link in reply.

"It's a long story." Dark Link said, "But it begins in a land called Hyrule. It was a place where evil rampaged unchecked for decades and decades, in both the form of the Triforce, and bloody wars. The problem was that more than once, someone would come along who'd use the Triforce to bring about justice. Now, my people decided that they couldn't have that, so they invented the Enslaver Sword; the perfect weapon for driving back justice, and the only thing that, in conjunction with the 'Chaotic Realm' which they also formed, can entrap the Triforce for any length of time. A few hundred years later, a peace advocate named Ganondorf seized control of the gerudo, and tried to use the Triforce to impose a life of purity and goodness on us. Unfortunately, he used a series of 'purity spells,' which attempted to rob people of their evil tendencies. Although I was just a boy, that caught my attention, and using my mind and my skills, I was able to gather a plethora of weapons and stop him, but not before he'd nearly brought our people into a new age of enlightenment. The hylians needed a new ruler at that point; a truly evil man who could rule them with an iron fist. When I killed Ganondorf, I took his Triforce, and added it to my own, and to appease me, Princess Zelda gave me hers. Once I'd gathered the Triforces of Control, Omniscience and Stubbornness to my will, I wielded absolute power, but I'm confident that the people of Hyrule would have rushed to make me king anyway. Their old king had proved weak against the forces of goodness, so I slew him, but I was strong, and they knew that I could not only direct them on the path of evil, but defend them from just forces too big for them to handle."

Link listened to the wicked one's story in horror. It was like hearing an inverted account of his own past for the most part, only with evil ambition replacing humility. Somehow, that creature was his own polar opposite.

"There are those" Dark Link continued, "who believe that the conflict between good and evil is a universal struggle. I don't think that's true, though. A world can be truly good, or truly evil, with very little conflict, but on the higher level; the level of all worlds combined, there seem to be equal measures of good and wickedness. At least until now."

"You come from another world." Link noted aloud, "One that's like a cruel reflection of my own, lacking the strong morals of our people. You may even see that lack of morals as a cause in itself. In combat, though, we're probably equal."

"That's what I'm here to disprove." Dark Link replied, however "You're dedicated to good, and I to evil. I invited you here because I knew you'd claim victory over your opponents. Frankly, this entire conflict was nothing but an introduction. The victor was never in doubt. It was just a way of preparing you for your fight with me. I'll do battle with you, and in doing so, I'll prove that evil, and my dedication to it, are superior to your methods and motivations of goodness. Then, once I've proven myself superior, I'll destroy you and everything you've ever known."

Link, however, responded instantly, almost before Dark Link had finished his sentence.

"Rubbish."

"What?" Dark Link asked, looking irritated for a moment.

"Rubbish from beginning to end." Link repeated, "You have no intention of fighting me; just slaughtering me with the Triforce from your world. That proves nothing about your dedication; just that the power of the goddesses is greater than me. It doesn't establish anything about good, evil, or your resolve."

"I won't be using the power or knowledge of the Triforce in this battle." Dark Link replied, "I've taken precautions, which I'll explain in a moment."

"Then you can't be as evil as you say you are." Link replied, "A truly evil man would disobey even his own rules, and lie constantly to his enemy. You've been very fair to me in explaining not only your terms, but your motives as well. If not for the barbarism of this conflict and the death of my sworn brother, I might have mistaken you for someone like Stalflare."

Dark Link sighed deeply, however, and frowned for the first time, then closed his eyes. After a few moments, he spoke again, however, sounding sad.

"I'm as evil as anyone in my world, or in any other, but I'm not perfect. I have one central flaw that keeps me from devoting myself entirely to the cause of evil, and that is that I lie to myself a lot. I was lying when I told myself that permitting you to survive the conflict was the only thing I could do. My ambitions of conquest have been dampened by lie after lie, just as your own works have been dampened when you lie to yourself."

At that point, however, an expression of great anger came over Link's face, as he exclaimed, "I don't lie to myself!"

"I think you just did." Dark Link responded with a smirk, "You lie to yourself when you think that passing on your sword techniques to a few students is enough to protect your kingdom, because you're afraid of being replaced by a successor, so you're careful not to teach them everything. That weakens the amount that your dedication can do. On a more personal note, you lie to yourself when you think that announcing your feelings to your true love would produce bad results. Both of those things are based on your central flaw; you're the Hero of Hyrule, and you love being a hero. You love it so much, that you never want to let go of that, but man is only mortal, Hero of Time. One day, you'll have to stop being a hero to your land, and put your toys away, and when that happens, you'll need to face the fact that you won't have what you really wanted out of your later years. You tell yourself that it's not possible to be both a hero and a husband, but that's a lie too. The truth is, you're afraid of disappointing your beloved; of falling in battle and leaving her a widow. You're so afraid of it, that you'd do anything to avoid it, even if it means forcing her to live in loneliness and despair, waiting endlessly for the one she really loves."

For a while, there was a look of horror on Link's face, as he listened to the words of Dark Link. At last, however, without looking into the eyes of his opponent, he said aloud, "You're wrong."

Dark Link just smirked at first, but Link continued, "Yes, I think that in the past, I've deceived myself, but it was that deception; not a strong conscious motivation, that led me to hurt the ones I love. I was fooled by my own impulses, but now that you, with your great knowledge, have shown me my faults..."

With that, Link drew the Master Sword, and exclaimed, "...It'll be impossible for me to be fooled anymore! My greatest desire is to do the right thing, and that's exactly what I'll do! If there's a way to beat you, I'll find it. Then I'll go back to Hyrule, and this time, I won't cause anyone else any more pain. I'm going to set things right, and we're all going to live happily ever after."

Dark Link looked about ready to vomit, but he removed the Triforce from his torso, and held it up in one hand. At once, a large orb appeared, and the Triforce was placed inside of it.

"This orb seals the power of the Triforce." Dark Link explained, "Only I'm capable of reaching into it, because it recognizes my soul. It'll stay sealed in this bubble, until our fight is over. Then, I'll reclaim it."

"It'll stay sealed in that bubble forever, then." Link replied, "I'm going to protect my people from you!"

That was how the fight began. They wouldn't be teleporting elsewhere for that battle. That fight would take place in the arena itself, with the subjects of Dark Link watching from above. That one, they both knew, would decide everything.

* * *

Ruto was the first to wake up in Hyrule. Per Zelda's instructions, she'd been placed in a water tank, and her injuries had healed up in less than sixty seconds. The second to wake was Stalflare, who took less than five minutes before his body had generated enough energy to heal itself, added to the spells being focused on him by the nearby fairies. Byrna was still down, and would be for a few hours, and Zelda and Stalflare were, for the moment, drained of the better part of their magic, but they could all sense that something was wrong. The very air around them seemed to be vibrating differently, as though some primal force was struggling with another for dominance.

None of them had felt anything like it since the fight with the dark lord Tassicle.

* * *

Link swung the Master Sword with all of his considerable strength, speed and skill, but his enemy seemed just as capable, and wielded a sword that, like his own, was clearly possessed of something more than a simple enchantment. The sword itself seemed almost to radiate malice, as Dark Link swung it through the air. Whenever their weapons collided, it felt as though a hundred souls; good and evil alike, cried out, as if struggling to claim victory in a battle that neither could truly win. Flashes of black and white passed across their field of vision, as they struggled to get an advantage of any sort, but they were too evenly-matched. At last, Dark Link leapt backwards, and Link didn't pursue him. Instead, he put away his sword, and yanked out his bow. Swiftly, he fired a light arrow at his enemy, but Dark Link didn't even seem to hesitate. He yanked out his shield, and Link watched in horror as the light from the arrow was drawn into the shield and extinguished. The arrow itself bounced off the wicked man's shield harmlessly, and fell to the ground with a clatter.

"Don't look so surprised, Hero of Time." Dark Link said at that point, "Your shield reflects light. Mine consumes it. You should have known that I'd have a defense for all of your light-based attacks."

Swiftly, Link drew his sword again, just as Dark Link yanked a large object from his bag. Link stared at it for a moment, open-mouthed. It was obviously a bomb, but a bomb nearly twice as big as the ones that he carried. Without a moment's hesitation, Dark Link threw the bomb directly at Link, and reacting quickly, the Hero of Time swatted it back at his enemy with the flat of his blade. The dark one frowned when his enemy did that, but didn't seem to be worried. In a swift motion, he put up his shield again, and Link watched as the flaming explosion that the bomb created was sucked into Dark Link's shield, like water down a drain.

"Enough of this!" Dark Link exclaimed in irritation, "Now I'll show you why a life of conquest and war is stronger than a life of peace!"

With that, Dark Link strapped something to his feet, faster than Link could keep track of, and in a moment, he was in the air. Link looked directly up, and could see that his opponent was wearing boots with wings on them. The wings were flapping as rapidly as hummingbird wings, and the evil one was circling his enemy in the air. From that vantage point, Link had expected Dark Link to use arrows or bombs, but instead, he pulled out a bright yellow lens. The Hero of Time covered himself with his shield, to prepare for an attack, but the next attack of his opponent wasn't one that the mirror shield could block. It was an attack of the mind; an attack that came from the lens itself, because it was the Lens of Nightmares.

* * *

Link sliced through the monster with a single swing of his sword, and turned to look at the crowd of people he'd just saved. Many were speechless, but few seemed grateful. In fact, most of them seemed ready to lynch him.

"It's that green swordsman!" one of the people exclaimed, "Get him!"

"I've only been fighting for justice!" Link yelled to the people, but they wouldn't listen. They didn't see him as a hero, but only as a fighter of great power; someone intent on fighting with beasts, and whose powers were so great, that every single one of them feared him. They saw him as a very dangerous vigilante, who didn't agree with their way of doing things; a public menace, and nothing he ever did would change their minds. They blamed him for everything. Why couldn't he just stay at home, they thought, and not come out and make them feel inferior? It was his fault they had to stop him. It was his fault they had to drag him down. Link would have expected gratitude, but fear, jealousy and hate was all he received from that crowd.

Swiftly, Link yanked out his hookshot and took to the skies, swinging freely between the tall buildings in the densely-populated city that he found himself in. Suddenly, however, he heard a voice from nearby. He could hear a guard of some kind telling him to stop; that he was wanted for questioning, but he only sped up even more. Those people looked at him as something that none of them wanted; an extra hero and an extra conscience.

For a moment, Link felt his fears well up inside of him. To do the full extent of what he could, and still not be appreciated was the worst thing that a person like Link could have to face, but a moment later, he remembered what really mattered, as he landed on a nearby rooftop.

"Not me." he said to himself in determination, "Not my feelings. What matters is justice. What matters is righteousness. The real criminals here are these people who don't believe in justice, not me."

Even as he said those words aloud, their wisdom cut through the darkness of the nightmare, and Link raised his sword...

* * *

...Just in time to block the attack of Dark Link, whose spell of nightmares had almost worked. However, Link had broken out of his deepest personal fears just fast enough to block a blow that might otherwise have finished him.

Dark Link had obviously not been expecting his spell to have so little effect. In his world, all people had massive, intense personal fears, which they ignored instead of resolving. Still, he was prepared with a leap backwards, to dodge the counterattack of his foe. A moment later, he yanked out a musical instrument resembling an Ocarina, and the entire area began to cloud over.

Link recognized the song of storms almost at once, but it was a slight variation of the basic tune, and at once, Link could see what that variation did. Instead of rain, lightning began to strike far more often than Link had ever seen. Many of the people in the stands above the arena began to run for the exits, and a few were even hit by the lightning and killed. Link, though, was able to dodge several of the bolts, and rush back at his enemy again.

However, a moment before he was about to collide with Dark Link, his enemy's body flashed green, and instead of hitting his foe, Link passed right through him, and fell to the ground, face first. At that moment, a bolt of lightening struck Link right in the back, or rather, it would have, but Link had the Mirror Shield strapped to his back at the time, so the electricity dispersed back into the air when it struck, instead of traveling into him. By then, Dark Link took a few steps back, as the green glow faded from his body.

Link was starting to ache, but he could tell that his enemy was weakening. Swiftly, he rushed forward with the Master Sword in his hands, and took a swing.

The Phantom Force spell that Dark Link had used to become intangible had faded, but even if it hadn't, it would have been useless against the Master Sword, so instead, Dark Link parried the first attack of the Hero of Time, then cast another spell. He began to glow blue, and his entire body crackled with electricity. That Aura of Electrocution sent a powerful current through anyone but himself who touched it, and Link was getting closer.

The Hero of Time collided head-on with the dangerous field, and screamed aloud, as a hundred volts coursed through his body. His entire body smoldering, Link spun the Master Sword around again, however, and the electricity seemed to encircle the sacred blade instead of traveling into Link. Then, he cast a spell of Nayru's Love, and with his own body glowing blue, pressed onward through the electrical field.

Dark Link had only one more choice by that point. Channeling the remainder of his magic into one last spell, his left hand began to glow red, then flames seemed to shoot out of his skin, and as he flexed his muscles even tighter, they began to give off less and less light, until at last, only the silhouette of the flames could be seen. Finally, Dark Link shot both hands forward at his opponent, and a huge blast of pitch black energy shot out.

Link dove to one side to dodge the energy as fast as he could, but just then, something that he hadn't expected occurred. The energy of darkness changed direction in mid-air, catching him by the legs, and somehow both scraping and burning him. He slashed out with his sword, and watched the energy retreat a bit, but it seemed determined to continue the attack. Link coughed at that point, trying his best to get over the pain, and at that point, as though responding to an order, the energy took a new form; the form of an enormous, black hound.

Dark Link advanced, with his blade outstretched. He seemed convinced that he could win that fight, by that point. After all, his enemy was wounded, and he was still at full strength, but the darkness hound clearly wanted to fight first, and it was the only one of Dark Link's powers that was, even to him, truly fearsome. He usually tried to avoid using it, but that time, he'd had no choice.

Link's mind raced, as he searched for a method to victory. Without the use of his legs, he wondered, how could he stop that beast? However, he had one more idea. Just as the hound leapt to the kill, Link lifted his mirror shield, and moments later, he'd reflected the dark energy of the massive creature backwards again, towards Dark Link himself, and watched as the black beast collided head-on with his master, and vanished from sight.

After the initial impact, Dark Link seemed to be struggling; surrounded by black energy, as though swimming in quicksand, trying with all his might to master a force mightier than himself. The deepest, most intense fires of the underworld swirled around him, as his wicked soul struggled for dominance over them. The whole time, Link looked on, praying that Dark Link would fall.

However, it wasn't to be. In mere moments, Dark Link was floating a few feet in the air. Black lights cast shadows all across the teleport area, as his mere presence caused the walls around him to crack. Link was swept backward by one of the pitch-black shadows, and a split second later, he felt fingers strong enough to crack diamonds grip his neck.

"This is unexpected, but fortunate for me." Dark Link observed as he held the wounded Hero in his hand, "I knew the darkness hound consumed all those with the purest hearts, but I never dared to subject myself to it. I'm pleased with the result."

Dark Link gave the Hero of Time an ugly grin at that point, as he began to slowly press downward on Link's throat. At first, it was like the vibrations that Link had felt from Nyarokai, but after a few seconds, the pain got worse and worse.

Then suddenly, Link heard voices again; voices inside his mind; inside his heart. They were the voices of his people; the voices of Hyrule. He'd heard them like that twice before, and it was only when he relied on them, that his greatest power was brought out. Link knew that he had to trust the people of Hyrule; he had to trust in their good intentions.

* * *

Once again, swirling masses of light began to radiate from Link's body, healing his wounded legs and strengthening his muscles. He felt the power of the hundreds of good-intentioned people behind him, giving him strength for the third time, and it was just enough to equal the strength of the supernatural evil brought forth by his foe!

Dark Link had been expecting him to use that form eventually, but he'd never seen Link summon his power so fast. In the twinkling of an eye, the hero had swatted aside the hand that clutched his throat, and knocked his foe across the teleport area, and into the opposite wall. By the time the evil one regained his senses, Link was standing in the air, right in front of him.

"You're much more powerful than Tassicle was." Link observed in dismay, "But you didn't see that attack coming. He would have."

"Don't compare me to him." Dark Link coughed, as he got back up, "When I wield the powers of eternity, I inhabit the darkness of the universe. He merely borrowed that power!"

Dark Link rushed forward at that point, but using a blast of power, Link was able to zip off to one side, avoiding the attack. Then, his leg shot out and kicked Dark Link to one side, almost without any effort at all.

"You never had the powers of eternity, Link." The Hero of Time said, "You just obtained some godlike powers that were never intended to be yours."

"Evil is chaos!" Dark Link replied angrily, spinning around and charging back at Link, "I won't let anyone tell me what's intended for me!"

Once again, Dark Link leapt forward, but although he slashed out with his weapon nearly a dozen times, only one of his attacks hit its intended target, and it was only a glancing blow. Link didn't, for the moment, strike back.

"Tassicle may have been an evil man of the worst order, but at least he was a warrior." Link noted, his voice full of derision, "He fought his battles head-on, diving as readily into a fair fight as into overkill. Every situation he faced, he faced with his strengths, immoral though they were. I had that much in common with him."

"You have this in common with him too." Dark Link continued, "I manipulated you both. If not for me, he would never even have found out about Hyrule, and..."

Link dove forward, however, before his enemy could finish speaking, and landed a simple punch to the dark one's stomach, and he moved so fast, that Dark Link couldn't defend himself.

"You really are an evil man." Link said angrily, "That's something you had in common with Tassicle, but you're not in the class of warrior he was. You got so used to lording the power of your Triforce over others, that it wasn't until this very fight that you realized your true power, and now that you have it, you don't even have a fraction of the experience with it that I have with mine. You're a very cruel joke."

With that, Link delivered a powerful kick to his opponent's back, knocking him to the ground. On of Dark Link's bones broke, and instantly mended itself as he listened to Link's words continuing, however.

"You've been predicting my actions since the start of this tournament. Don't insult my intelligence by explaining your past to me, as if I haven't got the entire thing figured out. When you obtained the full Triforce of your world, you discovered that it gave you limitless knowledge and power, but only within your reality. Once you'd conquered your world, what was there left to do? Then one day, someone in your world invented the teleporter. It was a way to travel to other worlds; a power that not even you possessed, and as you traveled to other worlds, your power of omnipotence and omniscience left your home-world, and journeyed to whatever other world you traveled to. I imagine that you may have conquered a few other worlds, but after a while, your curiosity was tickled. You wanted to know more about the nature of existence. Then you discovered my world and me. You saw the stark difference that existed between us, and wanted to prove to yourself that evil could be stronger than good."

"You wanted to validate the causes you fight for, so you lured Tassicle to Hyrule. You tempted him, by describing the Triforce as a danger to him and his armies. You knew that I'd eventually defeat him, and that doing so would, in time, make me even stronger. You wanted me to be enough of a challenge when we met, and that was your mistake. If not for Tassicle's invasion, and if you hadn't forced me to reclaim the Master Sword, you might have beaten me today. But even when you were tempting Tassicle, you did so in the way that a god might. You did all those things as a god, and you got very comfortable being like a god. You fought so many of your battles as a god, that unlike myself, you never learned to fight them as a man. Oh, sure, you knew how to use your sword to fight your foes, and your spells and enchanted items to gain an advantage, but you've forgotten the one difference between the fighting styles of mortals and gods. A god doesn't need other people to win a fight. They can stand head and shoulders above the armies of their enemies, and claim whatever victory they want."

"The difference between a god and a man in battle is that no man is an island. The real power of man comes not from his weapons, spells, or other tricks, but from his fellow man. That's the power I summon when I use the Master Sword to its full potential. The good intentions of others come to my aid. The power of compassion is my real weapon. Your power comes from evil, and I suspect that demons back you, but you didn't want their help. You wanted to be able to deal with everything by yourself, so you became dependant on the Triforce, and it stunted your social growth. The reason you can't beat me as a mortal now, is because for the past couple of years, you've been spitting all over your mortality, and trying to run from it. If you really want to beat me, you can do it by running back over there and grabbing your Triforce. You can grab the object that you became dependant on; the object responsible for weakening you; the object that changed your life, and mine, so that you'll never know whether evil can overcome good."

For a minute, nothing happened, then two minutes, and then three minutes. At last, however, Dark Link rose to his feet, and Link could see that his eyes were full of tears.

"What do you want, anyway?" Dark Link demanded.

"I want my sworn brother back." Link insisted, "And I want all the damage done by this ridiculous conflict to be undone. Then, I want you to go back and rule your home-world, and I never want to see you in Hyrule again."

Slowly, Link watched, as Dark Link's black light aura dissipated, and in response, he relaxed too, returning to his normal form. At that point, the wicked Link held up the magic stone; the stone that he'd described at the start of the conflict, in a voice that he'd deepened for effect.

"Here's the stone." Dark Link said flatly, "Just make your wish. This is the last civil act that I'll do to you."

Slowly, Dark Link lifted the Triforce from the bubble he'd placed it in, and slung it over one shoulder, like some heavy burden, then headed towards the exit of the teleport area, but stopped for a moment at the stone archway, and opened his mouth again.

"The ancient texts describe the Triforce as a nightmare for anyone who believes in true evil." Dark Link said after a moment, "I tried to use it to bring about that evil by force, but I was a fool. I've become less and less of a worthy champion of evil as I've retained it."

However, at that point, Link felt obligated to tell his counterpart the truth, despite all the grief that Dark Link had caused him.

"Evil isn't a force at all, Link." he said sadly, "It's just a lack of goodness. How could you ever be a champion of a deprivation?"

"You wouldn't understand..." Dark Link just replied with a scowl, "unless you knew what it meant to live in my world."

Then, with a very sad look in his eyes, though all of his tears were gone, Dark Link turned to face Link once again, and said "The moment I get back to my castle, I'll imprison this Triforce, so that no one will ever find it. Then, I'll destroy all but one of my teleporters. Maybe one day, when I'm ready, I'll challenge you again. When that day comes, I may not need to get your companions involved, but they should prepare very carefully all the same."

Dark Link said those last few words with some menace in his voice. Then, just like that, he seemed to fade from view. Link couldn't tell whether he'd teleported elsewhere, or merely turned himself invisible, but it didn't really matter. He'd left Link alone, and Hyrule's hero had one last job to do. Gripping the stone tightly, the Hero of Time made a wish...

* * *

That very night, in the main hall of Hyrule Castle, several dozen people had gathered for a dinner, hosted by Princess Zelda herself. Most of the guests had no idea that their Princess and the others had gone anywhere at all, while a few knew that they'd been gone, but almost nothing about why. Two or three knew something of their mission, but only ten of the people there knew the full truth, and the major purpose of the dinner was to change that. Two of the people who'd learned the full story were Mark and Ramie, who'd arrived together, much to the surprise of many of Ramie's friends. They hadn't yet realized that Mark had become a changed man during his time in Hyrule; a better person, so they'd wondered, at first, why she'd agreed to spend so much time with him.

Ramie wore a beautiful, blue dress, with a bow in the back, which looked almost like a pair of wings when viewed from the front. To Mark, it was like an outer manifestation of what he saw as her angelic soul. Mark himself was wearing tighter boots, carefully-woven pants, and a long-sleeved shirt, all of which were just as comfortable as his normal clothes. Most of those clothes had been made under the guidance, and with the help of Princess Zelda herself, just to make the party a brighter one, and they certainly did that. On the following day, Mark and Ramie would go back to their jobs, and their meaningful lives, but that night, the stars in the heavens would have envied the brilliance of those people. It was a special treat. None of them took it for granted, but they all enjoyed it.

Princess Zelda, Link and the other members of Hyrule's team were all there, and they knew what had happened. They sat opposite one another at the table and talked. Impa sat near them as well, herself having been told the whole story. Even the king was on the scene, though he seemed reluctant to join in the festivities. He'd had a horrible feeling weighing on his soul for quite some time, as though he was about to take part in some terrible ordeal, which neither he, nor anyone else was ready for.

That was Mark's first time tasting carefully-prepared hylian food, and it was absolutely incredible for him. Ramie had to instruct him carefully on which foods were safe for him to eat and which weren't, because the spread was more varied than any on Earth, containing large sections for fish and stone, and a section composed largely of fruit. There was also a section with lots of meat, and even some dishes that were poisonous to life-forms like Mark, but Ramie was careful to keep him away from those.

It was a wonderful evening, but near the end, Link grabbed Darunia by the shoulder, and spoke to him in a voice just loud enough to be heard only by the goron boss.

"If you want to opt out of this now, you can. People might think better of you if you were to leave now, in secret, instead of refusing my request in public."

"Look." Darunia said back, "I've already told you that I'm in this with you. Don't let the fact that I was the only one killed in the conflict convince you that I'm too weak to be one of you. Everyone deserves a chance to defend their homeland."

Link smiled at that, though, and replied, "If your heart's really in this, then I won't try to change your mind."

At last, when dinner was almost over, and people seemed to be about ready to leave, Link stood up. As he did that, everyone else sat back down; even the king and princess, and no one spoke. They all knew that when Link opened his mouth, he had something important to talk about, but although no one made a sound, Link still had to raise his voice to be heard at the farthest corners of the great hall.

"It's wonderful to see that so many people accepted our princess' invitation. I see representatives of the hylians, the kokiri, gorons, zoras, and even a few gerudo. There are shiekah among us too, I'm sure, but aside from our friend Impa, they don't wish to be revealed as such, so I'll respect their wishes. Nevertheless, there are enough of you here to spread my words to the furthest corners of Hyrule, so that every soul in this land will know what I'm about to say."

They all listened carefully, as Link continued to speak. He told them the tale of the Champion Conflict; of the many battles they'd fought; the many struggles they'd undergone, and the numerous trials that they'd endured. Most importantly, he told them about his own fight with the mastermind behind the conflict, and the stalemate that they'd eventually arrived at. The people just remained seated as they listened in awe.

"I'm telling you these things," Link continued after the long tale was over, "because I trust you all, and I know that you deserve to know the truth. That dark copy of myself did one thing that worries me with the conflict that he set in motion. He's made other worlds aware of our existence. I don't expect that will lead to war, but we have to be prepared and resolute, just as we have been in the past."

"Still," Link continued, "he's also done something very good for Hyrule. He's shown me many mistakes that I made in the past. Because I know about those mistakes now, I have a chance to correct them. First, I need to apologize to all the guards I've taught in the past. I didn't teach them everything I knew, and that was a terrible mistake. As of this very moment, I am, with the permission of Princess Zelda and King Hyrule, starting an order of knights, to whom I'll pass on my skills, abilities, and even the secrets of my weapons and spells. With luck, the order may be able to continue protecting Hyrule long after my death."

Link waited for a moment, as people began to recognize the importance of what he was suggesting. After some short words passed back and forth between those gathered, however, he continued.

"Secondly, it's come to my attention that the guards of this kingdom wouldn't be able to function as an army against invaders. I knew that from the time that Tassicle invaded, but I didn't want to face it. Now, I've decided to do the right thing. Hyrule will have her knights, and her guards, but she'll also have her First Force. Princess Zelda and I have agreed to work together to set up an effective defense base for Hyrule's First Force, so that we can respond easily to any trouble that arises. Stalflare, Ruto and Byrna have also agreed to join, and there are a few other promising..."

"You backstabber!" Darunia yelled from his seat, with something like a cross between humor and annoyance.

"And Darunia has also agreed to join us." Link corrected himself, as most of the people in the chamber laughed. The gerudo laughed at that the hardest of all.

"But I have one last announcement to make before I let you all go home to bed, safe in the knowledge that our kingdom can defend itself from mortal threats." Link added with a nervous smile, "I've decided to ask my one true love to court me."

Many people there had seen Link talking with many girls, but very few of them suspected that he hadn't been referring to a hylian at all. In a moment, he reached his hand out to Saria, who sat nearby, and it took her nearly fifteen seconds to realize what he was saying. When she did, however, she leapt down off her chair and laughed and laughed and laughed, jumping up and down in absolute glee, like the little child she resembled. When Link lifted her onto his shoulder in another moment, everyone in the hall had their own opinion, but most of the people there were pleased that Link was happy, and was making someone else happy. They wished him all the best.

* * *

One of the many who wished Link the best, however, wasn't sure if he'd get it. At the door, he'd told the guards that his name was Tomar, and that he was a delivery man, but his true job and nature went much deeper than that. He'd been to Hyrule every so often, and he loved that land, and hated having to visit it, but recently, a phantom premonition had descended upon him, as though fate was changing its mind about something very important. He could only hope that Hyrule wouldn't need his services anytime in the near future. Tomar hoped desperately that his premonition was wrong.

* * *

The End.


	18. Pt3 Ch1 The Captain

Author's Note: A word of warning; some may disagree with the direction that this tale takes. Let me say from the outset that while I got some enjoyment out of playing the Wind Waker, the game's story troubled me deeply, for a few major reasons.

First was the absence of any sages I recognized. Wind? Earth? The heck? What about fire? Light? Shadow? What's going on? What's at the root of this mystery?

Next came the game's ending. Hyrule is the centerpiece of the Legend of Zelda. Nearly every major game in the series revolves around saving it in some manner. You can't just sweep it under the rug and expect that no one will care.

Lastly, I was most displeased with the poor track record of the game's main protagonist, and his seeming lack of significant skill as a hero. It seemed wrong to me that the Link of the Wind Waker should be so vastly inferior to his counterpart in the Ocarina of Time, and before arguments arise about that claim, answer me this. Link of the Wind Waker was raised on an island, surrounded by water. The Hero of Time was not, yet he (the Hero of Time,) swims faster, further, can hold his breath longer, can see through the water better, can dive better (at all,) and is a better fisherman. I didn't feel that the Hero of Winds was portrayed as being competent enough by half, and this story was my attempt to make some peace with that.

As I wrote, I found that the Wind Waker became an easier and more enjoyable game to play, and I hope that you too will view this tale in the same light; as a simple way of exalting a hero who could have been so much more than he was, and saving a world that desperately deserved it. Now, please join me in the final journey of the Hero of Time.

* * *

Death, Conflict and the Heroes of Time

Part III: Endless Blue

* * *

Chapter 1: The Captain

* * *

Tomar breathed carefully, so as not to be inconvenienced by the moisture in the air as he walked down the street of Isle Prime. In the whole Great Sea, there was no isle where so much happened of such great importance, so naturally, there was no isle with as much crime. Criminals couldn't harm him, of course, but they might give away his secret, which would be much worse.

For the longest time, Tomar had avoided visiting the Great Sea in person, and would often get one of his partners to do business there instead, but when there seemed to be a very large job to do, it was required that he go there in person, and he'd had premonitions about that land recently; as though he'd be needed there again very soon. Still, he knew that he had some time to kill, so there he was, on one of many rainy days, walking down a muddy road towards one of the three competing inns on the island. The rain fell on and around him until he was soaked to the bone, but it had happened before. It wasn't surprising, or really, all that upsetting. Rain was very common on Isle Prime.

The door to Volvagia Inn swung open, drawing the curious glances of a few of the people drinking in the tavern, which composed the inn's lower floor. Tomar tracked soaked mud on the wooden floorboards as he closed the dripping doorway behind him, and took off his cloak and hat, hanging them up on a nearby coat rack, then sat down at the bar.

Most of the patrons returned to what they were doing, but Tomar still saw a few regard him with suspicion, so he placed a rupee down on the oaken counter and ordered, in his words "whatever is best for this sum." He was rewarded with a green-colored drink, which smelled awful, but by that time, no one was looking at him, so he poured the drink into his hand, and watched as the smelly, green liquid faded from existence. No one else, however, seemed to have noticed the strange feat he'd just performed.

"I haven't seen you before." the barkeeper said, as Tomar placed the glass back down on the counter, as inconspicuously as possible. The barkeeper was a burly man with a long, bushy beard, who was dressed in blue, woven pants and a brown shirt. He seemed genuinely interested in Tomar's affairs, which was rather rare in those days.

"My name's Tomar. I'm new in town." Tomar said casually, "I've been here before, but not for a long time."

"Ah." the barkeeper said with a broad smile, "That explains it. I've only lived on Isle Prime for three years or so myself. What brings you here? Business or misery?"

"Both." Tomar replied, searching his pockets for something, "I hate my job, but I wouldn't have come here if I didn't have a job to do."

"Ah..." the barkeeper said, thoughtfully, "Work. What do you do, if you don't mind my asking?"

Tomar frowned. He did mind, but he thought that it was only fair to give that man the halfway answer.

"Delivery." he replied.

"You travel." the barkeeper noted, "Nice to meet you. My name's Hem. I hope to see you around here a lot in the future."

As Tomar got up from his seat, however, he muttered under his breath, the words "Do you?"

* * *

Meanwhile, the rain that bathed Isle Prime also collided with the deck of "the Seeker," a wooden sailing ship manned by four men and captained by a fifth. It was a ship like all others; a ship with a single mission, and a ship which, like all the other ships before it, had failed in that mission.

No one enjoyed working on the Seeker. Its sailors knew that they'd find nothing from the moment when they'd left port, and they suspected that was why the ship was so small. The main reason they all felt that way was because not a single one of them had faith in their captain.

The captain of the Seeker was a man of remarkable physical speed and strength; someone whose anger was terrible to see, but who rarely showed that anger to anyone. He wore a green stocking cap on his head, and he had short, blond hair. His eyes were pitch black, and his skin tanned only slightly from years of exploration on the sea. The captain's name was Link. He was twenty years of age, and was a rather bitter man. He wore the identification pins of a captain, but he had a feel about him, as though he would have been more comfortable following orders than giving them.

The captain's past was something that he never talked to anyone about, so naturally, a hundred rumors circulated regarding it. Some said that he was a former murderer and a recent blackmailer. Some said that he was once a brave hero, who'd run into some bad luck. A few thought that he was a sorcerer from another land, who posed a serious threat to all life. However, none of those rumors held together well enough to take action on, so the captain was subject to neither court-martial, mutiny, or admiration, but merely allowed the authority that his superiors had given him.

The captain had, however, been stewing in the ship's hold for many hours, where he'd nailed a chair and table to the floor several months back. He would have very much loved to have been able to bring back some good news to the council, but it seemed, as always, that the search was destined not to end.

* * *

That very evening, no more than a few hours later, the captain stood in a courtyard of about a quarter of a mile across. All around him were the other captains of the navy, who'd been assembled by the windfall council to answer the required question again.

From the tower at one end of the courtyard, a man appeared, and addressed all those gathered there, shouting out, "Captains of the Great Sea! Whoever has seen beyond the endless blue, to find a continent, please give us your news!"

No one spoke, however. No continent had been found.

The man waited for sixty seconds, then, looking very sad, left the tower balcony silently, and the captains began to file out of the courtyard; all except for Captain Link. He couldn't just leave and await the decision of the council. He had to talk with the council members himself. Still, he knew that he couldn't approach them in the main chambers of the council. He'd need to speak with one of them in private; maybe Councilman Lenzo.

"He'll listen to me." thought the captain to reassure himself, "After all, we used to be good friends."

* * *

Minutes later, the captain found himself in one of the seven personal rooms of the councilmembers. Specifically, it was the room belonging to Lenzo; one of the highest-ranking members of the council. In his youth, Lenzo had explored large parts of the sea, and taken pictures of almost everything, but he'd sold his pictures a long time ago, along with almost everything else he owned, to pay for the search for a new continent. All that was left in his little room; about half a dozen yards wide, and as many long, with a ceiling not more than eight feet high, was a simple, wooden table and two chairs. No decorations hung on the bare walls; no vases or lamps aided the window across from the door in giving light to that forbiddingly impoverished-looking chamber. There wasn't even any paint or polish anywhere to be seen. Lenzo hadn't even bothered to put anything on the room's walls. Most of the other councilmembers had at least had their rooms painted, but no; not Lenzo. He'd sacrificed everything for the sake of his people.

It wasn't as if Lenzo was a man who wasn't concerned with appearances, either. Quite the opposite, in fact. He had a deep admiration for beauty in all of its forms; in art, in nature, in myth, and even in the actions of the people he knew, but Lenzo seemed to have known from the start that the search for land wouldn't be over quickly, and that it would be a very difficult and costly process. When he'd been questioned about his rampant cost-cutting, he'd merely told onlookers, "I save every rupee for the aid of our people. We have to find a continent. We have to survive. If we can find a continent of our own, then I'll be amply repaid for my sacrifices by the beauty that we'll see there."

Yes, the captain thought to himself, those had been Lenzo's exact words. However much he was repulsed by the state of his own inner chamber, he bore it for his people. He bore it because he was a self-sacrificing man; a good man; a man who the captain felt honored to know.

As those thoughts floated through the captain's mind, he crossed the chamber and looked out the window. The sea was beyond, and the other captains were returning to their ships, but strangely, had loaded no fresh supplies onto them. As he watched that, the captain had to wonder just what their orders were, to merit such an unorthodox procedure.

Suddenly, the door at the other end of the chamber swung open, and in barged Lenzo. He seemed absolutely furious; more than the captain had ever seen him, but when he saw Captain Link standing there, a look of confusion and surprise could be seen in his face.

"Link. My gods, Link. What are you doing here?" Lenzo asked out of pure, emotionless curiosity, not a glimmer of happiness showing on his face, or in his tone of voice.

"I needed to talk to a council member." the captain explained, "You're the only one I really know."

Lenzo looked like he was about to fly into a rage for a moment, but at last, he sighed and seated himself in one of the two chairs in the room, motioning the captain to sit in the other.

"Council member," the captain began, "I'd like to be relieved of duty."

Lenzo seemed preoccupied, because he stroked his long, black beard, and wouldn't look the captain in the eyes, as he asked "Why?"

"I feel like I've failed you." the captain replied, "I feel like I've failed you a hundred times over. After everything that's happened, I don't think I'm cut out to participate in this search any longer."

Lenzo thought about that. His brow furrowed, as he considered the captain's request. At last, however, he said "Tonight, before the admiral's ship sets sail, you're to take your vessel, and move it into the cave behind Isle Prime. Your crew will be reassigned, and then, if you want, I can relieve you of duty."

The captain tried to look Lenzo in the eyes at that point, but the councilmember wouldn't look at him. Again and again, he directed his gaze elsewhere. The captain had gotten the answer he'd been looking for, and yet, he had mixed feelings about it, particularly since Lenzo was acting so evasive. At last, he asked about the one other thing that had been bothering him.

"Why are the other captains leaving without supplies?" the captain asked him at last.

That time, Lenzo looked directly at him with a very frustrated expression in his eyes, and Link could see that Lenzo hadn't gone along with the council's decision in that matter, but regardless, some type of decision had been reached; a very serious decision.

For several moments, neither said anything, but at last, Lenzo broke the silence.

"The council believes that it will be easiest for our people if the supplies remain here. Still, it was rather a minor decision."

"A minor decision?" The captain asked, looking shocked, "Without proper supplies, our explorers might not even be able to make it to their new destinations, much less make it back!"

That time, however, Lenzo didn't even wait a moment before responding to that outburst. He rose up to his full height of over six feet; his long, bushy beard and broad shoulders making him an imposing figure, and exclaimed, "Gods, Link! Don't you see what's going on around you?"

An expression of total shock came over Link's face when Lenzo had started yelling at him. He rose to his own feet, and walked to the window to avoid looking directly at the councilmember, whose face was once again a mask of fury.

"Do you know why" Lenzo asked, "we've been ordering you out further and further? Why we've been asking you to find a continent? Why we formed the fleet in the first place? Do you?"

Link hung his head, however. He'd suspected that it had something to do with the growing population, but apparently, he'd been way off.

"When you look at the Great Sea," Lenzo continued, "you see your home; a place you've lived all your life, but Link... it's dying. We're all dying, Link."

Link spun around to look at Lenzo immediately in dismay. At last, he understood the fury in those eyes. Somehow, that mission would be the life or death of them all.

"Link, we're not fish." Lenzo continued, his rage fading into mere irritation in a moment, "We're men. We can sail on seawater, we can build floating homes on seawater, and we can explore the surface of the sea, and the many small islands that exist on it, but we can't eat or drink those things Link. They can't sustain us. Any of us can survive for several weeks without nourishment, but we can't survive on fresh air and seaside views forever, Link. We need a continent, because... Because for the past several months, we've been unable to grow food on any of the islands of the Great Sea."

Link was shocked, once again, to hear that, but he didn't dare to interrupt, as Lenzo continued to explain himself.

"Our scientists have concluded that the tiny size of the islands we live on have made them vulnerable to erosion and flooding of the soil. The soil of our islands is so wet now, that crops would drown the instant we planted them. Worse yet, the water level rises so significantly every time there's rain, that it spreads poisonous salts all over our crops. In less than a year, every island in this sea with be barren of all life, and in less than fifty years, they'll erode, and crumble into the sea, until there's nothing left."

The captain's eyes glassed over as he listened to that news. He'd considered himself a failure, but that was almost impossible to believe. His people were facing total extinction in less than a year; not from evil monsters, tornados, or sorcerers, but from simple lack of land. At that point, he was starting to think even worse of himself than he ever had before.

"The truth is, Link," Lenzo continued, "there's so little food left in our stores, that it's likely to last less than a week, even if we ration it carefully. Sending the fleet out this last time is nothing but a farce, to keep the people from surrendering to depression in their final hours."

"No!" the captain exclaimed desperately, "This can't be the end! Our people have lived here for hundreds of years! There has to be a way!"

Lenzo avoided his gaze, however, as he said that. The captain felt very hurt and ashamed, even while he said those words, though, since his old friend seemed to consider them the words of a naive child.

When the older man spoke again, he allowed all of his despair to seep into his voice for that final statement of their dilemma.

"Our doom is virtually certain. So certain, in fact, that I hardly think this last bit is worth mentioning. You see, three of our fleet captains did have tidings from the oceans to the south; all bad. Apparently, monsters have swarmed over and annihilated most of the islands to the south. One of the captains swears they were led by troops of men with scales like fish, and that they, in turn, were led by a man dressed in black robes. Does that sound familiar to you?"

"My gods." The captain exclaimed under his breath, his pulse almost skipping a beat in absolute terror, "Ganon."

"As I understand it," Lenzo continued, "Ganon is a sorcerer so powerful, that even considering our current predicament, he could save us all if he chose to. However, our captains agree that his actions have all been malicious to the point of insanity, as if he were seeking vengeance against us for some misdeed. You met him once. Can you tell me his motives?"

Link said nothing, however. How, he wondered, could he tell Lenzo the truth? How could he explain the chain of events that had led to the confrontation under the sea, and that he was partly responsible for what had happened?

At last, after waiting for fifteen seconds, Lenzo seemed angrier than ever, and said, "So that's it; the end of our stories; the end of our songs... The end of everything. Our final hour is almost here."

With those words, Lenzo walked over to the door leading directly into the council's meeting hall, and Link followed, desperately wanting to say something in reply, but not sure what to say. He knew that he wasn't technically allowed in the council hall, but if everything Lenzo had told him was true, then what did it matter? What did anything matter anymore?

* * *

Indeed, none of the other six members of the council seemed to object to the captain being in the meeting hall, though none of them showed any signs of being happy to see him either. Lenzo went over to talk with the other council members at once, four of whom were men, and two women, leaving Link alone in the corner of the council chamber, nearest to the main entrance.

The council chamber was a great hall of over twenty yards in any given direction, and it used to be a glorious-looking place, but virtually everything had been sold to pay for the search. Where there'd once been beautiful, stained-glass windows, there were only open holes in the walls, which let in the damp air from outside. Below those had once hung magnificent tapestries, and on the ceiling, there'd once been a chandelier, but those were gone, leaving empty slots in the walls, and a bare hole in the ceiling. The rugs on the floor, and the great table that the council had once sat at to discuss business were both gone as well. A rough, stone floor, and a collection of old, wooden chairs were all that was left. Virtually the only decoration left in the chamber was the paint on the walls, which showed a vast, green forest on one side, and a great mountain range on the other. Naturally, no one there had ever seen those things before, but the painting was at least a reasonable idea of what the artists thought they must have looked like, and it was, truthfully, the most beautiful thing left on Isle Prime.

The wooden double-doors that Captain Link was standing next to were about eight feet high, and decorated with carvings; a memento of times in which art was common, and only a couple of other doors on the island were that beautiful. In fact, as the captain looked at them, he thought that he could almost have heard the voice of the man who'd built them, speaking through his magnificent art.

Suddenly, though, something occurred to the captain, and he focused carefully. He could still hear the councilmembers talking behind him, but for a moment, he realized, there really was another voice; a voice that was muffled, but desperate, and filled with urgency, as it struggled to get its message out.

In a rush, Link yanked open the doors, causing every councilmember to get to their feet in a hurry. They hadn't heard the voice, but they noticed the open door at once, and moved quickly to the captains position, to see who'd been requesting entrance.

The councilmembers gathered around, behind the captain, as a man stumbled into the chamber. He was wearing worn, old clothes, and was obviously burned in many places, and bleeding from more than one wound. Clearly, that man had been through a most harrowing ordeal, and was virtually at death's door. Many of those present were shocked that, considering the extent of his injuries, that man should be able to stand at all. Truly, they thought, his will must have been powerful, to force his flesh so far beyond its intended limits.

Councilmember Benar recognized the man at once. He was Captain Regil of the sailing ship christened "the Second Eye," and he barely had a moment to let out a single breath, before he tumbled forward, and would probably have collided with the stone floor in front of him if Captain Link hadn't rushed to catch him. The man had lost so much blood, that he was abnormally light in Link's arms, and was obviously having great difficulty keeping himself from falling into his final sleep, but something inside of him forced his eyes wide open one final time at the very last minute, and he looked Captain Link right in the eye with boundless determination.

"Two hundred fourty-seven miles north!" he yelled at once, "One hundred thirty-six miles west! Time trav-"

However, he was destined not to say any more than that, because at that very moment, his eyes rolled back into his head, and his soul could no longer resist the limitations of the flesh. Slowly, as Regil's last heartbeat seemed to echo within Link, he gently placed the dead captain's head on the cold stone floor. He didn't understand what Regil had died for. In fact, he couldn't even remember the precise words that the haggard man had said. However, as he turned to look at the council members, he could see than Lenzo and two of the others had gone absolutely white, while two more looked flushed. The man's words had obviously had a great impact on them.

Geelin; the oldest of the councilmembers, sat back down immediately. She seemed to have heard and memorized the dying man's last words, and her face was one of the three that had gone white. She apparently understood the significance of what he'd been trying to tell them, and she quickly ordered Link to leave the room, while the seven discussed that new development. Lenzo, however, gave Link different instructions, jerking his head towards his own private quarters, and the captain immediately understood. For half an hour, he stayed in that small, undecorated chamber, waiting for the council to come to a decision.

* * *

After about thirty-two minutes, the door opened, and Lenzo entered his quarters again, clearly eager to speak with Link one last time. He must have thought that the captain deserved to know, at least, what was going on. When Lenzo spoke that time, it was still with great despair, and a lot of worry, but there was also a edge of determination in his voice, which indicated a possible hope.

"Geelin and I, and a few of the other councilmembers believe that Captain Regil's words have an important meaning. We think that two hundred and fourty-seven miles north of here, and one hundred and thirty-six miles west, there may be an island that's unraveled the secrets of time travel."

"Time travel?" the captain asked, a bit suspicious, but fascinated, regardless, "Do you really think that's possible?"

"Oh, I agree that it's unlikely that time travel really exists anymore," Lenzo continued, "but Regil obviously thought it did, and he sacrificed his life to bring us that information. Besides, it may be our only chance."

"Our only chance?" Link asked, extremely confused, "I thought you said our doom was guaranteed."

"I didn't know about this when I said that." Lenzo explained patiently, "If we can travel through time, we can change the past, so that some things never happen."

Still, Link didn't completely understand.

"But what would you change?" the captain asked.

"Well," Lenzo said, thinking aloud as he looked down at the floor, "Our best historians think that the decline of our civilization began with the mysterious disappearance of the Hero of Time several hundred years ago. If we can determine when that happened, what caused it, and travel back there ourselves, we might be able to prevent it, and by doing that, maybe we could prevent the flood that sunk the ancient land of Hyrule; the continent than could have sustained us all."

As he heard all of that, however, Link gulped in shame. He'd suspected, for a long time, that many of his actions as a young boy had been mistakes, and at that point, he was sure of it. Hope didn't lie in a future on soaked islands, he was starting to realize. At that moment in time, their only hope lay in the past.

Link sighed, and looked back into Lenzo's eyes again. He'd made mistakes, after all, but he could, he decided, still try to correct them. He could still try to atone for the crimes that he'd accidentally committed against his people.

"In that case, I'd like to join the expedition that's going to that island." Captain Link said, with as much determination as Lenzo had ever heard in his voice.

However, Lenzo's face fell when he heard the captain's request. It was clear that he'd been expecting it, but hadn't looked forward to it. In fact, he looked like he was close to getting sick over what he had to do next.

"No." Lenzo replied firmly, "You'll be relieved of duty, as planned."

"What?" The captain asked, feeling furious. Why, he wondered, was he being robbed of his chance for redemption?

"Look, Link. I'm sorry." Lenzo began, as Link's face seemed to twitch with rage, "But the council voted unanimously that you should remain behind. I think they blame you for what happened eight years ago, and to be honest, I couldn't disagree. I mean, I personally don't blame you for what happened..." he said, to try to calm Link, though it didn't really work, "but the admiral is already going because of her expertise in these matters, and if you were to accompany her..."

Lenzo sighed again, obviously far from satisfied with how things had turned out, but he continued.

"Admiral Tetra was with you eight years ago, and it was a recipe for disaster. If you and the admiral both go on the mission together this time, we feel like it might wind up the same way, and we can't afford a failure at this point, Link."

"I swear," Link exclaimed, his voice nearly quivering from rage and disappointment, "I won't fail you!"

"I'm sorry." Lenzo said, great sadness in his eyes, "The council has already made their decision. Please give me your pin."

For a few moments, Link's mind was filled with rage and disgust at the unfairness of it all, but he knew that he had no choice. Slowly reaching towards his shirt, he removed the pin that identified him as captain of a fleet vessel, and handed it to Lenzo.

* * *

No more than a few minutes later, the former captain was sitting in front of a mug of something clear and red, which he couldn't really identify. He just knew that it lessened the pain when he drank it; probably by killing off parts of his brain. But anyway, he thought, what use was a brain to a man who was never going to have the opportunity to use it for anything constructive?

That train of thought brought an open sob from him, before he lay his head down on the counter. In a moment, there was Hem, his hand outstretched. Link handed him another rupee, and Hem refilled the mug.

"So..." Hem said, in his most sincere-sounding voice, "What trouble's making me rich tonight?"

"Hmm?"

"This drink. People only order it when they've got some nasty trouble."

"Aw, nothing you can help me with."

"Try me."

"You're just a barkeep."

"True, but I meet lots of people all day. I hear things. I talk to folks. I like to think I've got some of the best connections on the whole island. What's your misery?"

Link sighed. Obviously, Hem wasn't going to leave him alone until he either left or shared his problems, so it seemed there wasn't much choice.

"Alright." Link decided aloud, "You want to hear about my problems? The truth is, it's my fault we haven't had any decent land to live on for the past eight years. If I'd been smarter; more responsible when I was a boy, I could have given us all a wonderful continent to live on."

"So why tonight?" Hem asked, "If this happened eight years ago, why didn't I see you in here the first night I arrived?"

"That's the real problem." Link continued, "Today, I found out there might be a way to undo what I did, on another island off to the northwest. But the problem is, the council won't let me. They're acting like I'm a jinx or something."

Hem looked deep in thought for a moment when he heard that, his brow wrinkling as he pondered Link's problem, but at last, he said, "So all you need is a boat to get you to that island, then."

"Yeah." Link replied bitterly, "I used to be a captain too, but they took my boat away."

"I see." Hem replied. He seemed to spend several more moments in thought, stroking his brown, bushy beard, until finally, an idea occurred to him.

"I think you should try to find somebody named Tomar." Hem said, "He's a traveler; deliveryman, apparently. He might be the only man in town with a boat that the council doesn't control."

"What?" Link looked puzzled again, but all thought of finishing his drink had at least vanished from his mind, "But why would that Tomar guy help me?"

Hem just shrugged, however.

"I can't be sure he would. Still, if you've got a good enough reason, he might help you out. He seemed like a nice enough chap when I met him this morning. A bit of a pessimist, though. The poor fellow had a look on his face like the world was coming to an end."

Link just swallowed hard when he heard that, before replying once again.

"I'll see if I can find him. Can you tell me what he looks like?"

* * *

Isle Prime was the largest island in the Great Sea, but it still wasn't more than a mile across, so naturally, it didn't take more than an inquiry or two before Link learned the location of the mysterious traveler. Still, that got him into a couple of rough fights with some of the local bandits, so he had a few bruises on his face by the time he found the docks where the traveler had apparently last been seen.

All of Isle Prime was covered in a heavy mist during virtually all the time that it wasn't raining, but the mist that covered the docks on the eastern part of the island was even heavier, and the rotting, old wood that composed much of the dock's construction materials creaked when the captain walked across it. In a few weeks, it would need repair, but then, in a few weeks, he wondered, would any of them have the strength to repair it?

Link walked back and forth along those old, worn-out docks several times before he found the man he'd been looking for. Tomar was sitting alone on one of the oldest sections of dock, looking out at the ocean. No boat could be seen, however.

"Well," thought Link, "maybe he just has it somewhere else."

"Excuse me." Link said, as he walked up to Tomar. The young man very nearly fell into the water at the sound of someone's voice addressing him, but quickly caught his balance again, and stood up to meet his guest.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Link said, "I didn't mean to startle you."

"No," Tomar replied patiently, calming down again "it's alright. Would you like to sit down?"

"Actually, I'm here on business." Link responded.

As he said that, though, Tomar smiled for some reason, and asked, "What kind of business? Have the orders changed?"

"Orders?" Link asked, utterly confused again, "I don't know what you mean. I'm here to ask if you can give me a ride to another island."

Tomar's face fell again, however. For a moment, it seemed, he'd misinterpreted the lad's words, and apparently, Link's reply had disappointed Tomar a lot.

"I'm sorry." Tomar said flatly, "I can't give you a ride."

With those simple words, the plain-looking man just fell silent again.

"But I heard you were a deliveryman." Link persisted, "You must have a boat!"

Tomar shut his eyes tightly at that point, as if worrying that their discussion was about to become much more difficult. It almost seemed as if Tomar was wondering whether to lie to Link, but at last, he'd apparently made a decision, because he opened his eyes again, and looked very grave and committed.

"Yes." Tomar said, "I do have a ship, but it's not very big."

"That's alright." Link replied, "I can stay in the cargo hold."

Tomar winced when Link suggested that, for some reason, but simply replied, "What do you really want anyway, boy?"

Quickly, Link rushed through his story, and gave Tomar the coordinates of the island. Once again, however, Tomar winced, almost as though he knew something about the island already. In just a moment, however, that proved to be true, when Tomar spoke up again.

"The time guard." he said, just loud enough that Link was able to hear it.

"You know about the time travel thing?"

"Don't bother trying to get there, boy." Tomar simply said, "Your... Our kind wasn't meant to tamper with the flow of time."

"But if we can save the Hero of Time, we can save everyone!" Link exclaimed, "Don't you see? Don't you see how important that is?"

The Hero of Time. It seemed to be a title that Tomar recognized; a title that he'd heard a long time before, but had almost forgotten about. He winced one last time, as though he'd been reminded of something that he'd been hoping to forget, but at last, a grin spread across the plain man's face, as if he was experiencing some hope for the first time in years.

In the end, Tomar looked Link right in the eye, and Link stared right back into those eyes of his. As soon as he did, however, a chill ran up and down the captain's spine. It felt like icy cold fingers were clutching his heart. However, before Link could come to grips with that sense of horror, much less guess what it really meant, Tomar looked away bitterly, and finally said, "My cargo usually isn't much bigger than you, so my boat isn't any larger than a canoe. That having been said, if you still want to travel on it, I won't try to stop you. Meet me back here at eight hundred thirty hours tomorrow morning. We can leave for your destination then."

Link thought that he should have been celebrating to have won the traveler over, but as Tomar walked off, vanishing into the thick mists, all that Link could feel was paralyzing fear.

* * *

The fear lasted for several minutes, and when it went away, Link remembered it so well, that he was careful not to look directly into Tomar's eyes again when he saw him the next day. Tomar hadn't been kidding about the state of his boat. It was about the size of a small kayak, just large enough to fit two people; maybe three, and powered by a single oar. The captain was so used to crafts designed for speed, that he'd never seen a boat quite like that one.

For a few moments, he struggled to think of something nice to say about Tomar's boat, and was about to decide on "it looks very sturdy," when Tomar disrupted that plan by being the first to speak.

"The coordinates you've given me are very far away. It will probably take us several days to reach that location."

The captain sighed as he heard that, however.

"By that time, the admiral's ship will have probably gotten there and back."

"You can still back out if you want." Tomar suggested.

The captain thought about it for a moment, but at last, he climbed aboard.

"I want to see this through." he finally said, in response to the sensation that Tomar was staring at him.

Tomar looked, for a moment, as if he were trying to seem unaffected by that comment, but he eventually pulled up the oar, and drove it through the water. He must have been a man of great strength, because with that single, solid push, the boat set off from the dock, and the captain could feel the familiar rocking sensation as they were sent forth, floating on the waves. Tomar seemed to reach back and untie the cord connecting the boat to the dock almost as an afterthought, and it certainly didn't slow him down, because his boat was already traveling at a surprising speed.

Link studied the mysterious traveler as he paddled slowly, alternating from one side of the boat to the next. He wore a green shirt and brown pants, with some nice-looking black boots on, which seemed almost as though they were lined with metal dust. His hair was brown, and his skin rather normal, but he had slightly longer legs than most of the people that the captain knew. Of course, by that point, he knew better than to attempt to find out the color of Tomar's eyes, but when he looked at the traveler from behind, he was reminded of an old man he'd met a long time ago.

"I'm probably just drawing that comparison" Link reasoned, however, "because he drove me around in a boat too."

However, just then, something occurred to the captain, which made him start in alarm, shaking the boat violently.

"Oh, no!" the captain exclaimed, "Several days? We'll be at sea for several days, and I haven't brought anything to eat!"

"So what?" Tomar asked impatiently, "Our people can go for weeks without food if need be."

The captain eventually just sighed in response to that, though. Tomar had a point. Given what their people were facing, it would have been selfish to take anything with him, but it had been a very long time since he'd spent a whole day without eating anything. Still, he'd simply have to get used to it, so silently, the two of them in their small craft continued to row on through the day, and into the following night.

As night fell, the captain began to feel the desire for sleep creep up on him, but he knew that it wasn't necessary, so he asked Tomar if it would be alright.

At first, Tomar seemed genuinely flabbergasted, but at last, he said "This boat wasn't intended for sleeping on long journeys like this one. However, if you can get to sleep in it, then by all means, do so. You can't help me paddle, since I only have one oar, and I don't really need a lookout, so our journey won't be hurt if you manage to get some rest."

Thanking Tomar, the captain curled up as best he could on the back seat and a half, and tried his best to get some rest, listening to the soft swooshing and splashing noises made by the traveler, as he passed his oar back and forth across the boat, continuing to row forward. The captain very nearly wished that he'd had an oar himself all those years ago. A couple of questions popped into his head about Tomar a moment later, but before he could ask any of them, he was asleep.

* * *

When the captain woke up, however, he was in for a big shock. He was resting on a sandy beach, with no boat or Tomar in sight. He couldn't tell how long he'd been asleep, but it appeared to be evening again, and he found himself wondering how that could possibly be. Had he really slept through the whole night, and the following day, and where was he? What had happened to Tomar?

The captain was quite disoriented by how much had changed since he'd drifted off into slumber, so he attempted to get his bearings by looking around. He could see a pretty large cloud of smoke offshore, and between the smoke and the shore was a train of broken wood and metal building materials, but the captain didn't see much significance to that, at first.

Quickly, he spun around and surveyed the island behind him. It was smaller across than his home island of Outset had been by nearly a whole yard, but the only things on the island were a collection of hills, some of them as much as eight feet above sea level.

Link didn't know how he was going to get out of that mess, but he knew he'd have a better view of the island from the top of the central hill, so he started climbing up its steep incline. As his feet left the sandy beach to make contact with the grass at the bottom of the hills, however, there was a sound behind him; a sound that he didn't even notice. It was a low, fairly-quiet sizzling noise. As Link moved further up the hill, the sizzling became a crackling, still just as quiet, and the crackling became a ball of fire, which grew larger and larger as it floated several feet above the beach. At last, when it was nearly seven feet in every direction, the flames seemed to part, and a foot clad in a brown boot stepped forth from it, to land with a soft padding noise on the sandy beach. The man who the boot belonged to followed suit shortly, and if the captain had seen that man, he would have been terrified. He was dressed in robes of black, brown and red, which were obviously enchanted, and he had bright red hair, and a beard that encircled his face; almost like a mane. His nose and chin were much larger than the norm, and on his forehead, there rested a gemstone, encircled by a metal housing, which seemed to be connected directly to his skin. His face held a look of malice and hate, but not a focused one; just an expression of general dislike of everyone and everything around him. The man was unmistakable, though. Ganondorf had found that island.

As Ganondorf looked over the island with eyes; backed by centuries of genius, and years of madness, he saw the twenty-year-old captain; dressed in green, and climbing to the top of the central hill, and something finally clicked in his mind. Where once there'd been a simple desire to kill everyone, Ganondorf's more calculating intelligence began to take over, and he recognized the boy.

"Link." the ancient gerudo thought to himself, "The so-called 'Hero of Winds.' Now, this is a prize I hadn't expected; a chance to exact my revenge against the little wretch responsible for our fate with my own two hands."

In a moment, Ganondorf nearly licked his lips at the thought. Then, he remembered the other inhabitant of the island, and put the puzzle together in his mind.

"So," he thought to himself, "The young captain is after the time guard; probably to erase me from existence, or some such thing. Well, maybe I'll let him discover it first, to be sure there aren't any traps protecting it, and to let him teach me how to operate it. Then, when I kill the fool, it'll be all the sweeter, because the last thing that will pass through his mind will be my total victory."

That time, Ganondorf really did lick his lips, and slowly, he rose into the air, concealing himself with a darkness illusion against the shadows cast by the central hill. The captain wouldn't be able to see him unless Ganondorf Dragmire wanted to be seen, and by then, it would be too late.

* * *

As Link reached the very top of the hill, he gasped and nearly fell over backwards. The sight that greeted him was like nothing he'd ever seen.

It was a sculpture made of stone, which looked like an enormous spike with four sides, reaching up from the top of the hill. The thing couldn't have been less than twenty-five feet high, and it was covered in strange lettering, cut into its stone surface, which the captain couldn't read, or even identify the origin of. In front of the huge sculpture was a circle of stones on the ground, which resembled an unused fire pit. The captain was absolutely astonished.

Normally, he would have proceeded to search the rest of the island for other sculptures like that one, but he was feeling particularly well-rested, and his mind was sharper than normal. Because of that, an idea came to the captain. What if Tomar actually had taken him to the island of time travel? Had he slept for days straight, and woken up on the beaches of the very island that he was seeking, and if so, what had happened to the admiral's ship, and was that stone monolith the time device?

"But how do you turn it on?" the captain mused aloud, speaking his thoughts openly, to keep the matter fresh in his mind. However, just as he said that, a number of things happened at once.

Every inscription on the monolith began to glow, and the light coming from those inscriptions seemed to shine both upward into the sky, and down into the ground. At last, the captain could see a vast beacon of light; ascending into the heavens, further upward than his eyes could follow. Attempting to see its top would have forced him to bend over backwards, so instead, he looked again at the monolith itself, watching it in amazement. Aside from the fact that it was still glowing, nothing seemed to have changed about it, but somehow, he heard words ring out from the heavens, and from the ground at his feet, as though all of existence were speaking to him.

"Turn what on?"

"G-good heavens!" the captain exclaimed, and that time, he really did fall over, landing on the circle of stones, in the middle of the island. He quickly righted himself, however, and stepped back outside of the circle, but by that point, he'd noticed in awe that the rocks seemed to be rooted to their spots, through some unknown force. At last, when the captain had gathered up the courage to speak, he addressed a question to the strange monolith.

"W-Who are you?" he asked nervously.

"I am the time guard." it merely said, then fell silent.

"Are... are you going to hurt me?" the captain asked, just as nervously as he'd asked his last question.

"I will, and I will not." the strange being replied in its booming voice.

"What do you mean?" the captain asked, absolutely confused. How, he wondered, could someone both hurt him and not hurt him?

"I mean," explained the time guard, "that in the fullness of time, I will hurt you, and I will also not hurt you."

The captain grimaced at that point, though. Obviously, that being, whatever it was, wasn't planning on explaining itself, but it didn't seem as though it intended to attack him either, so he asked another question.

"Do you have the power to travel through time?"

"No."

The captain had understood that reply loud and clear. In that case, his trip there had been a waste of time. Still, if he was going to spend what was left of his life on that little island, he decided, then he might as well enjoy some conversation, even if that strange being wasn't exactly a great conversationalist. Soon, Link sat down on the grass, and began to speak with the time guard a little more.

"Why are you called the time guard?"

"I am called the time guard, because I guard all of time from a threat that cannot exist, and fulfill a mission that cannot be fulfilled, yet is."

"How do you guard time?"

"I stand sentinel over all of time in the ring at my base. From here I watch and wait for signs of threats impossible."

"You mean that you watch all of time through this ring?" the captain pointed in amazement towards the ring of stones.

"Yes." the time guard replied.

"Can you show me all of time?"

"I can and I cannot."

Once again, that reply puzzled the captain. The time guard was obviously a very complicated individual, to live at the center of so many contradictions.

"Can you show me specific times, places and people?"

"Yes."

"Can you show me the Hero of Time?"

"Yes."

Still, nothing happened, however. The captain was still a little scared of that monstrously-powerful entity, but he decided to carefully venture one more question.

"If I ask you to show me the Hero of Time, will you punish me for it?"

"No."

"Will you do it?"

"Yes."

The captain sighed with relief at that point. At least, he reasoned, he could still do that much. Using the time ring to see into the past would at least help him to live his final days in memories of more pleasant times, if nothing else. With nothing more to lose, the captain finally said "Time guard; show me the Hero of Time in his prime."

* * *

Erac started to sweat as he fired off the last of his arrows. How, he wondered, could he possibly win? How was it possible? Swiftly, he put away his bow and drew his sword. There were still over a hundred of the enemy, but he'd run out of options.

Diving forward from his place at the top of the hill, Erac executed a beautiful leaping-slash maneuver, and jumped into the air again after that. When he plunged down again, another of his foes fell, and three more collapsed after that, from a whirling sword attack that he immediately moved into. However, at that point, they began to move in on him. Their blades were wielded with great skill, and they were coming from all sides. Erac twisted one leg to the right, to hold two of them at bay, as he parried the attacks of three more. His form was perfect, and his balance was flawless. He was the perfect example of the great hylian fighting technique at its finest, but there was no way that he could claim victory at that point.

Erac spun around with both his foot and his sword striking enemies, deflecting their blows, and mowing them down like wheat, but he was hitting their vulnerable points less and less as he fought. Soon, one of them adapted to his style of attack, and raise its sword to cut at his boot, and he felt the stabbing pain of a cut in his leg. He knew that he'd failed at that point, so he did the only thing that he could, by continuing to strike outwards with his weapon. However, Erac's sword could only cover so much ground, and soon, he felt a sharp blade plunge its way into him from behind. He'd fought bravely, and with great talent and speed, but in the end, he'd been overcome.

* * *

Erac woke up on a bright red sofa, in the center of an office decorated in red and pink. It was the office of Princess Zelda; where she prepared her lessons, and where all lessons of that type were held. Erac knew that in that lesson, he'd failed completely, because he saw both Link and Zelda looking at him with expressions of some disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Erac." Link said, before his student could ask the inevitable question, "You haven't discovered the secret yet."

Erac looked up, for a moment, into Zelda's eyes, and saw the remainder of the battlefield that he'd just been in there. All the weapons, all the boulders, all the enemy soldiers, and the town that he'd been told to protect vanished from existence when Zelda blinked her eyes one last time. The illusion had been dispelled, and the test was over.

Of course, an illusion was exactly what it had been. The entire battle had been a mere series of images and sensations cast upon his brain by Zelda's powerful mind, designed to test his reactions to battle conditions. He'd been subjected to those kinds of tests many times before. He'd even requested them, on occasion, but that test wasn't one of Zelda's. It was the test to see if he was ready to study under the Hero of Time. For the past three months, that test had been there, like some unconquerable behemoth, taunting the students of the knight academy to match wits and skills with their new headmaster, and not a single one had passed it. Erac had hoped against hope that he might be the first. Truthfully, Link seemed like he'd been hoping that the young man would win as well. Erac was Zelda's best student; an expert in combat, a reasonable mage, and a very clever man, but he'd failed too, just like all the others.

As Erac looked back up at the Hero of Time, he could see a brief expression of doubt there, as if Link were questioning whether the test really was too hard for young fighters like him, but just as quickly, a cold look came over his face, and Erac knew, for certain, that he couldn't expect leniency from the Hero of Time.

"I don't see how it's possible to win." Erac said aloud, as he stood up from the couch, nearly tripping when his boots sank into the thick, red carpeting, "One person against five hundred enemies with only a bow, some arrows and a sword; it's impossible."

"Yes." Link muttered, as though thinking the problem over himself, "That would be impossible."

"But that's exactly what I'm being asked to face!" Erac protested, "It's not a fair test!"

At first, Zelda hissed under her breath, as though commanding Erac not to say another word, but Erac's curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he had no intention of once again being sent home with the words "try again next week." That time, he'd decided, he was going to find out how Link expected them to beat his challenge.

Erac had gotten to his feet, and was standing right near the foot of the couch he'd been lying on moments before, while Link sat in the guest's chair. Zelda was in a chair right next to the head of the couch, but had gotten up as well, when Erac had begun to protest.

"You did request this test, didn't you? You do match the specified qualifications, don't you?" Link asked those two questions, one right after the other, as if to be sure that Erac heard them both.

"Yes." Erac replied, "But even if I had ten times my qualifications..."

"If you had ten times your qualifications, I'd pit you against ten times as many foes." Link interrupted him, "But I assure you that this test is both fair and surmountable."

"Even you couldn't pass that test." Erac insisted aloud. When the Hero of Time heard that, though, his eyes focused at once on Erac's, as though staring directly into his soul.

"I invented that test," Link replied firmly, "so I know how to pass it. Doing that would be a waste of time and energy, not to mention that if I show you how to pass the test, you'll have an easy time passing it as well. No."

All that time, Zelda watched with absolute chagrin. She'd never seen Erac so desperate about anything. In his eyes, there shone a need to know the answer, and she would probably not have scheduled the test at all, if she'd expected him to react that way to his failure.

"I don't buy it!" Erac exclaimed angrily, "Nobody can defeat five hundred in that scenario! Nobody!"

As he said that, however, Link slowly rose to his feet, and though the Hero of Time was even younger than Erac was, in his eyes, there was the wisdom of a man five times his age.

"Nobody, Erac?" He asked aloud, "Or anybody? Anyone could pass my challenge if they knew the secret, Erac. Any man, woman or child."

"Are you trying to say a ten-year-old boy could do better than me with nothing but advice from you?" Erac demanded, infuriated by that point.

Link, however, was also quickly becoming frustrated, and replied sharply, "Even a seven-year-old girl can shoot an arrow where I tell her to!"

It looked, for a moment, as though Erac was about to attack Link, but instead, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began to think carefully again. Arrow... child... would be... Slowly, he put the pieces of the puzzle together in his mind, assembling the clues that Link had given him, one by one. At last, he opened his eyes again, however, and looked over at Zelda once more.

"I'd like to take that test one more time right now." He said, sounding just as determined as before, but no longer furious.

* * *

The illusion began, and the landscape materialized into view. Behind Erac was the village on the hilltop. In front of him was an army, consisting of five hundred enemy warriors, all advancing towards the town. On either side, there was a hillside, covered with huge rocks and boulders. Erac was alone. He had to defend that town somehow, by himself, and that was the test.

However, that time, Erac understood a part of the test. All he had to do was shoot a single arrow. Somehow, a single arrow could win that fight, but how? The enemy didn't seem to have a visible leader to slay, and the idea of piercing all of them with one shaft was ridiculous. Somehow, he thought, was it possible that...?

Or was he looking at that problem the wrong way? Was he looking at it as five hundred enemies to overcome, instead of one big puzzle? Was he looking at his bow and sword as his only weapons, when there were other weapons on which he could rely? Erac struggled to remember Zelda's first lesson in combat; think of everything as a weapon; not merely your sword, your daggers, your wires, your arrows, but also your hands, your feet, your surroundings, and even your enemies themselves.

Quickly, Erac looked around for another weapon that he could use, and figured out the solution to the test.

With eager satisfaction, Erac pulled back the string of his bow, and shot one of the small stones nearby, on which a veritable mountain of boulders rested. As that one small chunk was dislodged, a tremor began, and that tremor shook loose other rocks. Erac dove for cover as a massive chain reaction brought a cascade of boulders down upon the entire invading army, and he was absolutely elated, as the illusion vanished, and he heard the words of Princess Zelda saying, "Congratulations. You've passed."

* * *

The captain watched the scene with awe. He'd never seen such a proceeding. That, then, was the Hero of Time; trying to teach young soldiers battle cunning above even skill with a sword or bow. Surely, he must have been a powerful man. What, the captain wondered, could have caused such a man to vanish? Had he been ambushed? Betrayed? Assassinated somehow? The captain had a feeling in his gut that if he could only speak out to Link; the man he'd been named after, the Hero of Time could resolve the problems that had led to the flooding of Hyrule.

"How can I speak to him?" the captain asked, even though he suspected that there was no answer.

However, to his surprise, the time guard replied, saying "You must visit him in his time if you are to do that."

The captain's heart nearly leapt in his chest at the very suggestion.

"You mean that's possible?"

"Yes."

"How? I thought you said you didn't have the power of time travel."

"I said that I could not travel through time. I cannot. However, if you merely step into the viewing circle, you will reach your destination."

If the captain had asked any more questions, things might have happened a great deal differently, but he was so elated at learning that victory was still possible, that he wasted no time, but stepped into the circle at that very instant.

* * *

Ganondorf had been listening closely to everything the captain and the time guard had said, so the very instant that the time guard described how to travel through time, he revealed himself and landed right next to it. However, by then, it was too late, and the captain had vanished. At once, Ganondorf did the only thing he could. Snapping his fingers, he caused a dozen large creatures to appear around him. They were armored beasts, with axes slung across their backs, and swords attached to their belts. The armor was so heavy, that the earth shook when they moved, but no living beings inhabited that armor; no consciousness or life. They had no will but Ganondorf's. Those creatures were ironknuckles, and the captain had not, in any of his travels, faced any foe quite like them. Ganondorf knew that, which was why he'd summoned them. As he was, the captain would be ill-prepared to fight them. Even one could probably drag him back out of the time period to which he'd traveled, and Ganondorf was sending in five...

* * *

The captain rubbed his eyes as he looked carefully around. He could hear voices nearby, and see a few blurry shapes, but nothing distinct. He could, however, make out a smudge of purple, and one of green in a sea of red and pink.

"So it was a test of clear thinking..." the captain heard. It was the voice of Erac; the young knight who'd sought Link's training, and as the words were spoken, things began to come into focus. Suddenly, everything was clear. The captain was in a room of about seven yards wide, and as many long, with a ceiling of about ten feet tall; sufficient even for the legendary gorons.

The carpets were over an inch thick, and were bright red. They covered the floor of the entire office, which, honestly, the captain had never seen the likes of. On the walls were painted beautiful murals of, in one direction, an exploding mountaintop, and in the other, a morning sky; because the sky was pink, and morning skies were always pink in the Great Sea. To the left was a desk, colored a dark brown, which served as both a writing surface, and as a storing-place for drawers, and beyond that, there were dark brown bookshelves, built right into the walls. At the far left corner of the room was the doorway out, decorated with a few symbols, which the captain didn't recognize. To the right were some enormous windows, many feet wide and tall, which were flanked by red drapes, that were drawn back to let in the sunlight, and what a clear, sunny day it was, too. The captain couldn't remember having seen such bright, clear sunlight for many years; certainly not since he was a boy, if then. The sight nearly brought a tear to his eye.

In the center of that room was a red sofa; large enough to seat three people, or one laying down, soft enough to be used as a bed with ease, and with armrests on the sides, which might easily have been used as pillows. Next to it were two dark brown, wooden chairs of similar make and shape to one another, each containing a figure from legend. Princess Zelda, in her legendary pink and purple gown sat close by the head of the person resting on the sofa, and Link; the Hero of Time, sat by his feet. The individual that the captain had learned was named Erac lay on the sofa, not even bothering to get up, however. On his face was an expression of great satisfaction, as though he'd been told that he was guaranteed a place in heaven.

Just then, though, the captain realized that the Hero of Time was staring directly at him. For a moment, they continued to stare at one another. Then, at last, the captain spoke aloud, in a hurry to get his message across to the legendary hero.

"Link…"

Zelda spun around at that moment, and Erac sat up in alarm. The two were stunned to find someone else in the office, although the Hero of Time merely got to his feet carefully, clearly not knowing whether that new arrival was a friend or foe.

"Don't be alarmed." The captain quickly said, "I don't want to hurt anyone. In fact, if you don't listen to me carefully, everyone will be in grave danger."

By then, the Hero of Time was paying careful attention. It was clear that he was taking the new arrival's words very seriously.

"I'm from several hundred years in the future," the captain explained, "and if I have enough time, I'll explain the nature of the threat, but first, I'm going to tell you what you need to do. You have to..."

Just then, however, the Hero of Time drew his sword, alerting the captain to the fact that there was something behind him. He spun around at once, and watched in horror, as five armored creatures appeared behind him, and one grabbed him by the arms. Before he could resist, a glowing circle appeared behind the captain and his attacker, and he and the monster were drawn into it, heading back to his own time.

"No!" the captain thought silently, in despair. He'd been so close to success...

However, the Hero of Time had heard the words of the captain. He'd heard the urgency in his voice, and he knew that something enormous was at stake. At once, he leapt forth, slicing the legs out from under two of the ironknuckles in front of him. Then, as the other two attempted to cut him open with their axes, he placed both feet on the axe handles, and vaulted over their heads, landing behind them. Once there, he spun around with his blade, and both were instantly in pieces.

At that point, Link turned to face Zelda one more time. She looked sad, to some degree, but they both knew what he had to do. Swiftly, he leapt into the glowing time anomaly, just as it had begun to vanish, and was in pursuit of the messenger from the future.

However, just then, something happened that Link couldn't have predicted. When he dove into the time rift, the Master Sword, which he'd held so tightly in his grasp just moments before, slid from his hands as though unable to enter the gateway with him, and that was how Link wound up falling through time, unarmed, and unaware of what he was about to face.

* * *

In what felt like mere moments, Link found himself staggering out of the time portal, and he had no idea where or when he was. The air was thick with moisture, and he was on a very small island of some kind, but the first thing that drew his attention was neither of those details, but the creatures that surrounded him. To his left were five creatures, which looked a bit like zoras, with fins on their arms, legs and back, and blue and green scales all over their body, but unlike zoras, those beasts had much larger mouths, and their muscle structure was far larger and more pronounced. To his right stood a collection of seven very large moblins; not one of them less than nine feet tall, and each obviously possessing a powerful degree of strength in their legs and arms; probably capable of leaping with great speed, and delivering mighty blows, and right in front of him stood the ironknuckle who'd grabbed the green-clad boy, still holding him tightly in a sturdy grip.

However, none of those foes frightened Link as much as the person who stood behind the ironknuckle. He was dressed in dark robes, and his chin seemed to have gotten larger since Link had seen him last, but there was no mistaking Ganondorf; the man who, in the past, had caused Hyrule seven years of pain and fear. Link started to back away at that point. There were very few people who he remembered so well, and feared so much.

However, he wasn't the only one whose memories were making him feel nervous, because Ganondorf, at that moment, looked into the eyes of the Hero of Time, and recognized the soul behind them.

* * *

At first, Ganondorf felt confused. Then, he felt worried. Then, true fear filled his soul, as he began to contemplate a hundred things that the Hero of Time's appearance could mean. Was he there to restore peace to the world, in time to watch it die? Was he there to save the world, or was he merely there to stop Ganondorf for no constructive reason, as the Hero of Winds had done years ago?

Ganondorf's heart was filled with questions, and he knew that he couldn't fight a foe like the Hero of Time, while he was so consumed by confusion, so waving his hand to the monsters gathered on that island, he vanished in a burst of flame.

* * *

Naturally, the monsters took the gesture to mean that they should destroy the being in front of them, and at once, all of them besides the ironknuckle leapt forth to the attack. Soon, Link was in the middle of a small crowd of creatures, each struggling and aiming for his neck, head and chest. With no other weapons at his disposal, Link tripped one of the moblins, and grabbed the spear from its hands in just a moment. Whipping the weapon back and forth through the air, he stabbed two of the fish-creatures, releasing eruptions of energy from their stomachs, which consumed them, as well as one of the nearer moblins, who couldn't get out of the way in time. Next, two more of the fish beasts fired beams of energy from their throats, which hit the stone pillar behind Link, putting cracks in it, so he used the spear as a pole vault, to spring over their heads, and once he'd landed on the ground again, he spun the weapon around in a circle, near ground level, so that all three fish beasts, and two more moblins were tripped up by it. The spear broke from the strain of performing that maneuver, so Link grabbed two more that had flown from the grasp of the falling moblins, and used them to impale two more fish beasts, causing more energy eruptions, which consumed the third, and two more moblins, as well as both spears, putting even more cracks in the stone monolith in the process.

Having whittled the numbers of his enemies down to four, Link grabbed the head of a shattered spear, and threw it directly through one of the slits in the helmet of the ironknuckle holding the captain. In response, the creature seemed almost to melt away, and the captain looked absolutely stunned to find himself free.

"Throw me your sword!" he heard the Hero of Time shout. For a moment, he thought of refusing; of fighting the remaining monsters himself to prove his mettle, but there was an urgency in Link's voice, which refused to be disobeyed. Soon, he was holding the captain's sword in his right hand, and preparing for battle again.

As the remaining enemies advanced on Link, he spun the weapon in a wide arc, and watched as it glanced off the hide of one of the moblins. Obviously, those creatures weren't so easily pierced by metal, and that would make what he had to do a bit harder.

Link leapt off to one side, and broke into a run, with the remaining moblins in hot pursuit. As soon as he reached the ocean, he dove forward, into the water, and was off swimming, and again, the moblins pursued him. At last, after several minutes of swimming, Link rotated his body in the water to look behind him, and watched with grim satisfaction as the last of his pursuers became too tired to swim anymore, and sank to their apparent doom.

However, the captain wasn't satisfied by what he was seeing. In fact, he was terrified. The Hero of Time had come into the future, and just like that, he was about to die. Out there in the middle of the ocean, his strength would give out before he could swim back to shore.

However, as the captain watched in awe, Link turned and swam back towards him. First, he swam for a yard, then two yards... five... fifteen... He was swimming as though he could never tire, with strength and endurance beyond anything the captain had ever seen, and when, at last, Link stepped back on shore, his clothes dripping with seawater, he didn't even seem to be breathing hard.

"That... That was amazing!" the captain exclaimed in awe.

"Not really." the Hero of Time replied, "They were substandard creatures. I've fought much worse. Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

The captain's face fell at that point, however, and Link could see at once that it was bad news.

"I wanted to warn you about something that was about to happen to you. As I'm sure you've noticed, Ganondorf returned, and this is the result."

As the captain said that, however, he gestured towards the ocean, and for a few moments, he and Link both gazed across as much of it as they could take in.

"This used to be Hyrule" the captain said, "and you're the only one who can prevent it from happening."

The Hero of Time swallowed hard at that point. He could tell at once that the captain was telling the truth, but if that was the case, then one thing mattered above all else.

"Send me back, and I promise I'll do whatever I can to protect Hyrule." Link said aloud.

"What?" the captain asked, feeling very desperate by that point, "You want me to send you back? How am I supposed to do that?"

For a moment, the Hero of Time's blood seemed to freeze in his veins.

"You went back through time yourself. Just send me back the same way."

"I didn't do that. The time guard was the one who sent me back through time."

"Well, where's the time guard?"

Quickly, the captain pointed towards the stone monolith atop the hill in the center of the island, and Link steeled himself, because he knew what the sight before him meant. The stone surface of the time guard was covered with cracks. Charred marks littered its base, where it had been struck by energy explosions during the fight, and Link could tell at once that any chance of going back by that route was a hopeless case, but he had to try anyway.

"Time guard!" Link exclaimed, as he walked towards what was left of the stone monolith, "Can you send me back to my own time?"

At once, the same loud, booming voice that the captain had spoken with earlier was heard again, saying, "I can, but not yet. The damage is too much."

However, Link pressed the matter with determination, saying "How can the damage be repaired?"

"There are seven in the sea who hold the secret and the power to repair the damage and restore the power of time. You must find them and bring them here."

Link seemed to be thinking that over for a moment, and like the captain, he was muttering something to himself at first.

"Seven in the sea? Could the sages still exist? But if the sages exist, then what happened to the prophecy of heroes? Why hasn't a new hero arisen? I need to know more."

At last, Link turned back to face the captain again, looking as if he'd just arrived at a very important decision.

"It seems like we're going to be spending some time together," Link said, "so maybe it would be best if we knew more about one another. As you seem to be aware, my real name is Link, and I was chosen, long ago, to serve as a hero for Hyrule, but before I say any more than that, I think you'd better tell me exactly what happened here."

The captain took a deep breath for a moment, and looked back out at the sea. It felt like some kind of incredible dream to be talking to the Hero of Time, but the circumstances made it seem more like a nightmare. Still, Link was right. It wouldn't do any good to simply sit around and wallow in self-pity, or worry about things he couldn't change. For the moment, the best thing the captain could do would be to explain how things had gotten so bad for the hylian people.

The captain continued to stare out at the ocean a moment later, carefully avoiding looking into Link's eyes, as he began his story...


	19. Pt3 Ch2 Two Lives Two Heroes Two Stories

Chapter 2: Two Lives, Two Heroes, Two Stories

* * *

"I guess I should start with what the legends tell us about Hyrule. Most of the legends about Hyrule are pretty incomplete. We didn't even know the true nature of the Triforce, but one thing I'm sure of was that no legend of that ancient land spoke of hylian crime or criminals. Whenever the legends of Hyrule talked about evil, they referred to monsters of power, and wicked men of other races, but for some reason, hylian crimes were never recorded. Even our most learned historians couldn't really determine why that was."

"Still, the legends surrounding your life; the life of the Hero of Time, were surprisingly clear. An evil man from beyond Hyrule's official borders arose, and claimed the Golden Power, which I later learned was the Triforce. It gave him so much power, that he was able to single-handedly terrorize all of Hyrule. Then, you appeared. With the power of the Master Sword, you defeated that wicked creature and saved Hyrule."

"However, a short time later, he somehow reappeared, seizing the power of the Triforce again. Using its power, he began to terrorize the people of Hyrule again, and they watched and waited for the Hero of Time to reappear, but he didn't. For some reason, he was gone, and without his help, they had, they believed, only one hope for survival. As doom approached, they appealed to the gods of Hyrule for help against that wicked fiend."

"However, the gods they appealed to weren't as powerful as people had suspected. They couldn't directly overcome the power of the Triforce or its wielder, so instead, they tried to blunt the evil man's attack, by selecting certain individuals to travel into the mountaintops. At that time, the gods unleashed a terrifying flood, which covered the land in water, but at the same time, they erected a barrier around Hyrule, separating it from the mountaintops on which the new hylians had begun to live. That barrier was invisible, so it couldn't be broken by the Triforce that the evil man commanded, but to make certain that he couldn't obtain the others, the gods employed the aid of Princess Zelda to hide the Triforce of Wisdom from the evil man. To further prevent him from obtaining it, the Triforce of Wisdom was split in two, and each half was given to a different member of the royal family. The king kept one, and the Princess kept the other, passing it down to her descendents, but not telling them what it was, or what it was for."

"For a while, no one was sure what happened to the Triforce of Courage. Some believe that it was destined to return to the Hero of Time, but because he was gone, it couldn't do that."

"Generations went by, and people passed down the legends by word of mouth, and with each passing generation, more of the details of the legends were lost or misinterpreted. After a while, I was born on an island called Outset. Both of my parents died when I was very young. I don't know the details, but as I understand it, they died in a boating accident. Because of that, my little sister and I were raised by my grandmother. My sister's name was Aryll, after one of the ancient sages of wind, and I was named Link, after you."

"On my birthday, when I turned twelve, I was dressed in a green ceremonial outfit, and preparing to come of age, when I witnessed a young pirate named Tetra being carried through the sky by what looked like a giant bird. The bird was being pursued by a pirate ship, which was firing boulders at it from an onboard catapult. Eventually, they managed to hit it with one, and as a result, it dropped Tetra right into a forest on my island. She lost consciousness at once, of course, but fortunately, she wasn't injured. I was able to find her in the forest, but the enormous bird mistook Aryll for Tetra, and carried her off."

"Now, I'm not sure why Tetra decided to help me out. Maybe she felt guilty about what had happened, but she and the other pirates agreed to give me a ride to the place where the bird had taken my sister. It was a big, stone island called the Forsaken Fortress, and at first, I thought I could simply storm the place, but the fortress was guarded by the bird, and apparently, owned by Ganon, who I later learned was the evil man from the legends. The bird tossed me into the water, and I'm sure I would have drowned if not for a magic boat, which appeared and carried me safely to land."

"It may sound hard to believe, but that boat could talk. It called itself the King of Red Lions, and it said that it knew the secret to defeating Ganon and saving Aryll. I was young and inexperienced, and to be honest, I was ready to grasp at any straw that he or anyone else could offer me if it could fix things, so I followed the boat's advise. Together, we embarked on a quest to find three magic pearls and use them to unlock an enormous tower in the center of the ocean, where, the boat said, the legendary Master Sword was kept hidden. He told me that only the power of the Master Sword could defeat Ganon, so together, we searched for it. I proved myself in the tower, and was taken to Hyrule, where I found the Master Sword, and pulled it from an enchanted pedestal. Then, I returned to the world above."

"Having obtained the Master Sword at last, I thought I could overcome Ganon for sure. I thought the King of Red Lions had been telling the truth when he said that he understood how to defeat the wicked Ganon. But although I succeeded in breaking into the Forsaken Fortress and freeing Aryll, when I tried to confront Ganon, he struck me down just by looking at me. I couldn't understand what had gone wrong, but for some reason, it never occurred to me to pin any blame on the King of Red Lions. All my thoughts were of what action I had to take against Ganon, and I was furious at him for causing me so much suffering."

"Fortunately, I was rescued by Tetra, some bird-people called Ritos, and a dragon named Valoo, but they couldn't stop Ganon, and as a result of our encounter, he learned the location of the Triforce of Wisdom. A few minutes later, the King of Red Lions, myself and Tetra all journeyed to Hyrule again, where the magic boat revealed that his name was actually Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule; former king of Hyrule. He told us that Tetra had, in her veins, the bloodline of Princess Zelda herself, and that she had the fragment of the Triforce of Wisdom that he lacked. The two fragments were combined right there, and the King told me that in order to defend Tetra and the Triforce of Wisdom, I needed to find both the Triforce of Courage, and the sages whose power maintained the strength of the Master Sword."

"I spent days and days searching for those ingredients, and finally, after I had both the Triforce of Courage, and the aid of the sages of wind and earth, I returned to Hyrule, to try to protect Tetra again. Too late, though, I discovered that Ganon had already abducted Tetra, so I pursued him to his Tower in Hyrule and confronted him. There, something happened that I'll never forget."

"When I reached the top of Ganon's Tower, I saw him standing over Tetra, who was asleep. He didn't even look at me at first, he just started talking about how the air, winds and environment of Hyrule had been such a beautiful one, that spread life and hope to all of its people. He said that the reason he'd conquered Hyrule to begin with was because he'd wanted that wind for himself and his people. Then, the struggle had gotten out of hand, and suddenly, there was only one way to get what he wanted."

"As Ganon said that, he looked towards me, but although I braced myself for an attack, his strength and speed were too much for me. Without even drawing his weapon, he defeated me, and soon, held me in the air by my arm. After a few moments, the Triforces within Ganon, Tetra and myself leapt forth and combined into one, and soon, Ganon was approaching it, intent on using it to make his every wish come true."

"Back then, that seemed like a horrible eventuality, but looking back on it, I'm sure that if he'd gotten his wish, my people would have been living on a continent these past eight years, with no fear of... But I'm getting ahead of myself."

"At the time, I'd thought that the King had just made a few mistakes, but now I can see that he knew I'd fail to defeat Ganon, even before he sent me into battle. He didn't tell me Ganon's abilities, and he didn't tell me his weaknesses. I was basically a sacrificial lamb. The moment the Triforce was reassembled, the King appeared, and he claimed it before Ganon could. I saw a look in his eyes when he grasped it, which has since become more common among my people, but back then, I had no idea what it meant."

"The King made two wishes of that almighty artifact. His first was that I and Tetra should have hope. His second was that the flood waters should come down on top of Hyrule, smashing what was left of it."

"The Triforce drifted away, and I couldn't tell where it went. Ganon, however, was determined not to let us escape, and attacked me one last time; that time with two swords. However, since he didn't have the power of the Triforce anymore, and with the help of Tetra, I was able to defeat him. As I plunged the Master Sword into his forehead, he told me that the wind was blowing, and then suddenly, his entire body seemed to turn to stone. Moments later, when the waves came down, Tetra and I found ourselves in bubbles of power, floating up to the surface of the ocean again. That time, we were rescued from drowning by the pirate ship, but we'd always assumed that both Ganon and the king were killed in that incident."

"That was eight years ago, and since then, the people of the Great Sea have joined forces to a common goal; finding a continent on which we can live. We've found other islands, large and small, but none big enough to grow a garden on, and as I understand it, the food we had stored up in our warehouses over the past several years will be gone in a month. We'll probably all be dead within a year."

"When the islands united, it didn't take long for word to get around of what had happened, and how I'd had the chance to claim a continent for our people, but failed. Tetra's name was brought up in many of those tales, but no one ever put the blame on her. When the two of us signed up to join the fleet, I was made a captain at once, because of my knowledge of sails and winds, but Tetra started out as an ordinary crewman. However, because of her impressive knowledge and experience as a former pirate captain, she soon became a captain as well. Five years ago, she was promoted to the rank of admiral, and every time I try to inquire why I haven't been so fortunate, someone changes the subject, but I know why. People see my presence as a jinx. They see me as a person who invariably causes failure. That's why I had to be the one to travel back in time and find you, Link. I wanted to have a chance to redeem myself."

* * *

For a few seconds, the Hero of Time was deep in thought, as he processed the entire story. Many points had interested him, but he highly doubted that simple captain could provide more clarification on any of them than he had already, so instead of requesting it, he decided to tell his own story first.

"Listen carefully," Link; the Hero of Time said, "Because I'm about to tell you something that not even your most clever historians are aware of."

The captain just nodded eagerly, though, as Link began his tale.

"Hyrule and her people had reliable records of virtually every major thing that happened to us for a little over three thousand years before I was born. We're not sure what happened before that, because the nature of the world was in a constant state of flux, due to the fact that the Triforce passed from one master to the next over time, each one changing the world into what he or she wanted; something different. The constant change was so chaotic, that our people must have suffered greatly, but we don't have a solid record of that time, because every time the world changed, all records of past events were erased. That period of prehistory is what we refer to as "the Great Chaos," and it could have lasted for months, years, centuries, or even thousands or millions of years. However, it was ended by the only thing that could ever have ended it; a good man."

"What had really caused the Great Chaos was the fact that every new master was so easily corrupted into using and misusing the power of the Triforce. It may have been some instinct on the part of the hylian race to defend ourselves from that horrible suffering, which made us what we were; beings who no level of power could corrupt; beings whose eyes were firmly fixed on what mattered; beings who were good."

"As it's written, the Triforce fell into the hands of a hylian, who'd finished progressing to that level of will and morality. He was a good man, and he swore that he'd never use the power of the Triforce for any reason. Under that banner; the banner promising the stability of the universe, he gathered to his side every single hylian in the land, as well as a great deal of help from fairies, and that was how Hyrule's first real war began. The races of our land were divided into two sides; those who believed in preventing the Triforce from ever being used, and those who wanted the claim it, so that they could use its power for their own benefit. The hylians were forced to do battle with beasts made of rock, with aquatic men possessing almost godlike power, and with enormously strong women from the desert, led by a small team of winged women into battle. The forces set against them, in fact, were so great, that the good man would either have failed, or would have had to break his vow, except for one thing. A race of beings came from the north with powerful magic, and allied themselves with the hylians at the last minute, driving back the selfish peoples. They called themselves the shiekah, and although their power was greater than that of the hylians, they swore allegiance to the hylian peoples, because they believed that the hylians knew the secrets to peace."

"At last, when the armies of the selfish peoples had retreated, the forces of order studied the problem of finding a way to confine the Triforce. You see, an unbreakable enchantment surrounded the Triforce, which bound it to the land of Hyrule for all time. Because of that, moving it into another land wasn't such a simple task."

"Eventually, though, a weakness was discovered within the enchantment. Most spells have a weakness of some sort, you see, and in this case, we discovered that it was possible to confine the Triforce by splitting Hyrule into two halves, and placing the other half in a parallel reality. That reality was dubbed "the Sacred Realm," and it was completely uninhabited. To keep people from entering it and claiming the Triforce, the only doorway into the Sacred Realm was sealed with a lock called the Temple of Time, and a key called the Master Sword."

"The Master Sword was the greatest weapon ever designed by the hylian people, and it reflected the intentions of their souls. It was forged by hylian blacksmiths at first, then imbued with a hundred enchantments by mages and fairies, until it began to resemble and reflect the power and state of their hearts. Soon, far from simply being a sword, it was an infallible judge of character; a weapon that, if wielded by a true hero, could deflect any kind of black magic, and protect hundreds of people from evil. It was also designed to prevent the power of the Triforce from seeping through the barrier between realities, so my people placed the Master Sword into the Temple of Time, and closed the door of time in front of it, locking it with five keys."

"The first of the keys was a scroll, describing the true functions of the Triforce, and the way to open the door of time. The second was an enchanted ocarina, which could play magical songs, that drew on the power within our hearts. The last three keys were enchanted gemstones, which had to be placed in the slots in front of the door of time, before the Ocarina could open it."

"The good man who'd helped seal up the Triforce was appointed king over all the hylians, and at once, the shiekah agreed to join in an alliance with them, but the king still didn't believe that the Triforce was safe enough, so he decided that in order to prevent the door to the sacred realm from ever being opened again, he'd give each of the keys to a different race of people, reasoning that if they ever found true peace, the Triforce would no longer be as much of a threat."

"The scroll was given to the most militant of the races; the gerudo; the women from the desert, who immediately placed it in their most guarded vault. The enchanted sapphire was given to the water people; the zoras, whose royal family members began using it as a wedding ring. The magical ruby was given to the rock people called the gorons, who displayed it in the center of their cavern home. The magic emerald was given by the king to a red-haired little boy, who met in the forest one day, and as for the ocarina, it was kept by the king himself, who later placed it in a secret chamber, once the castle of Hyrule had been built."

"Our kingdom continued on for centuries, and our people grew stronger, wiser and more prosperous. As time went on, we developed lessons of morality, of intelligence, of wisdom, care, and many other things, as well as techniques and traditions which we continued to improve on. After a time, we made peace with both the zoras and the gorons."

"However, one day, an evil army of enchanted beasts called wraiths came from the north, and attacked our people in the hopes of getting at the Triforce. Even with the help of the shiekah, we nearly would have perished, except that the gerudo, under the command of Ganondorf, appeared on the last day, turning the tide of battle. Ganondorf used that action to finally bridge the gap of mistrust between the gerudo and hylian peoples, and soon became an advisor to the king of Hyrule, in addition to being king over the gerudo himself."

"During the war, my mother was afraid that Hyrule would fall, so she fled to the forest, where she gave birth to me. There, I was raised by the kokiri; the spirits of the forest, who lived in the form of children. Meanwhile, Ganondorf had read the scroll that described the Triforce, and was scouring the land for the keys to the Sacred Realm. When I was ten years old, I met with Princess Zelda, and we attempted to stop Ganondorf, but he tricked me into opening the Sacred Realm for him, allowing him to grasp the Triforce of Power. I, however, was put to sleep for seven years."

"When I woke up, I discovered that the Master Sword had bonded to me, and that could only mean one thing. I'd been chosen to wield it as a Hero of Time, and to gather the power of the Sages to save Hyrule from Ganondorf's domination. One by one, I rescued the seven sages, adding their power to my own. The sage of light, the sage of forest, the sage of fire, the sage of water, the sage of shadow, the sage of spirit, and Princess Zelda herself; the sage of time. By combining our powers, and claiming the Triforces of Wisdom and Courage, we were able to outwit Ganon, and trap him and the Triforce of Power in the Sacred Realm, where the Triforce belongs."

"Well, I was sent back in time to live those seven years over again, and a lot's happened since then. I had to confront a possessed mask, an invasion of the dead, and fight alongside other champions of Hyrule, through an otherworldly tournament, and against an evil reflection of myself, but after that incident, I made a life decision, and at this point, I'm engaged to be wed to a young lady I love very much. I'm sorry... She's not really young at all, but you couldn't tell that just by the way she looks or acts. She's an amazing person."

"Since I first announced my courtship with her, it's been three months, and in that time, I've had plenty to occupy myself with. I and a few of my associates have built a new academy for hyrulian knights, and I serve there as headmaster. I was just about to accept my own first real student when you appeared. I've already noticed many things about this place, though, that seem a little off, as if something's deeply wrong here, and from your story, I can tell that you're in the grip of forces that are assailing you from more than one direction."

"If only you could return to your own time," the Captain remarked sadly, "you could fix it all."

"That's not guaranteed," Link replied quickly, "But the fact is that right now, I can't return to my own time, so we need to develop another plan of some kind."

However, it seemed as if Link's words weren't cheering the captain up at all.

"We're doomed." the captain muttered, falling to his hands and knees in the sand, "It's over. It's all over."

Link's face, however, turned red as he saw the captain's attitude, and quickly, his leg shot out, knocking the young man onto his back.

"Ow!" the captain exclaimed, rubbing his head in pain, and sitting up to face Link angrily, "What was that for?"

"That was for giving up!" Link yelled back, with an extremely angry look on his face, "No wonder people see you as a jinx with that kind of defeatist attitude! Get up and get this through you're head; we're not finished yet!"

"But you don't understand what's just happened!" the Captain protested.

"What? What don't I understand?" Link responded, just as angrily as before, "You felt ashamed over having caused all this tragedy for your people, so you tried to reach this island. Your ship burnt to ashes, and you were the only one that reached land. Then, you accidentally caused the tragedy you were trying to prevent. Cry me a river! Just because bad things have happened to you in the past doesn't mean you stop trying to fix them, and it doesn't mean you can just give up."

For a few moments, the Captain couldn't think of anything to say, but at last, he realized something.

"Wait a minute." He said, "My ship didn't burn."

"So did you teleport here or something?" Link asked, looking confused for the first time since he'd arrived in that time period, "No other ships have been in this area for at least the past day; maybe longer."

Swiftly, the Captain clambered to his feet and began to look around. Sure enough, there was an enormous cloud of smoke on the horizon, which he'd previously mistaken for an ordinary cloud. He would never have realized it otherwise, but that sort of cloud could indeed have been made by a ship being burned down to its frame in the water.

"I started out from Isle Prime in a small rowboat with one other person." the captain remembered aloud in confusion, trying to figure out for himself what was going on.

"Well, you didn't arrive in one." Link responded, "Or if you did, you're asking me to believe that the boat passed over the water like a ghost."

The Captain shut his eyes tightly, as he tried to remember exactly what had happened, but after he'd fallen asleep in Tomar's boat, there was nothing else. He'd just woken up in the sand. At last, he spoke again, however, feeling dismayed by his own poor knowledge of that situation.

"You might be right." he said, "I fell asleep in the rowboat, and woke up on the beach of this island, but I never saw what happened to Tomar, the rowboat, or to the ship you just mentioned."

However, just then, the two saw something that made them both gasp in surprise. The clouds of smoke that hung over the ocean to the southeast had begun to change shape, until, at last, they resembled a woman. Link thought he recognized something about the woman, but the Captain was certain that he knew who she was.

"Admiral Tetra." The captain remarked blankly, as a hundred grim thoughts passed through his mind. However, just then, the Hero of Time said something very surprising.

"I knew I recognized her." Link said from behind him.

"What?" the captain asked, feeling very confused, "But you've never been to my time before. How could you recognize the admiral?"

"I've never seen the admiral before in my life." Link explained, after pausing for just a moment, "But in my time, there was a female pirate captain by the same name, who looked very similar. I defeated her in battle, and she was imprisoned in the castle jails, but I haven't seen her since then."

Still, the vision of the admiral told the captain one thing. It must, he realized, have been a message from Ganondorf. He'd somehow captured Tetra, and was daring Captain Link to try and rescue her.

"We have to save her somehow." the captain insisted adamantly, turning around to face Link again, but for some reason, the Hero of Time looked more contemplative than enthusiastic.

"Yes; I think that might prove to be helpful at some point." Link agreed with a nod, "Honestly, I don't think Ganon has any intention of hurting her, though, so we have plenty of time to plan our rescue mission."

"Now we're talking!" the captain exclaimed with a grin. He could tell that the Hero of Time had already started forming a plan, but what it was, or what form it would take would only be revealed in time.

However, by that point, the thoughts of the Hero of Time weren't focused exclusively on the development of his own plans. He'd begun to look at the soul of that unfortunate captain with some pity, and after just a moment, he'd decided to give him a great gift; the greatest gift that he could reasonably give to anyone.

"So how do you plan to save her?" Link asked the captain, smiling, even as his question drew a frown from Captain Link.

"Huh? Me?"

"Well, you're the one who brought it up. What's your plan?"

"Um..." the captain muttered, at a loss for words. Truthfully, he didn't have a plan of any sort. In fact, their situation seemed more hopeless than ever. They were stranded on an island, with a broken time guard, and no boat. They also didn't have any real way to make a raft, or any other mode of transportation, but the captain didn't want to admit to Link just how hopeless their situation seemed. Still, he wasn't sure what else to tell the Hero of Time.

After the captain had spent nearly sixty seconds in silence, Link sighed. It was obvious that he had no plan, and wasn't going to develop one, or he would have already. Despite his many past failures, the captain seemed to have learned nothing about planning ahead, or thinking before you act.

"In that case, let me tell you what I think." Link said at last, "I think that any plan will have to involve the two of us getting off this island, so that's the first thing. Now, I'd like to suggest a way to do that. I think we should swim out to the next island to the west, and use some of the trees there to build a raft."

That time, however, the captain did have something to say.

"Link, that island is over a mile away. There's no way we can swim that far."

"What?" that time, Link registered genuine surprise, though, "You mean you can't swim for a mile?"

"No one can." the captain replied, both casually and disappointedly, "It's not possible. You'd get tired and drown."

"Is that some kind of disease?" Link asked, looking genuinely curious. It was obvious that the two still hadn't come to an understanding of one another's worlds. Still, after a minute or two of discussing it further, the captain still insisted that it was impossible for people to swim over a mile, and Link was still surprised by such a suggestion.

"Fine, then." Link finally said, breaking out of the conversation after only a short time "You can stay here, and I'll return to pick you up after I finish making the raft, but it would have gone much quicker with both of us working on it."

In one swift motion, Link dove into the ocean, and was off, swimming even faster than he had been a few minutes ago in the direction of the heavily-forested island in the distance.

"It's no good." the captain thought to himself, however, even as he watched the Hero of Time swimming with determination, "It's hopeless. He'll drown before he gets halfway there."

However, time passed, and Link continued to swim, until all the captain could see of him was a green dot in the distance, and sure enough, he got more than halfway towards the island, and didn't even seem to have slowed down. He just kept swimming and swimming, longer and faster than the captain had ever seen anyone swim. At last, the captain couldn't even see Link distinctly anymore, and suspected that his strength had given out, and he'd drowned. Those were the thoughts that filled his head as he fell asleep on the island's central hill, right in front of the time guard.

The Captain woke up before morning, partly because of the poor quality of his bedding, and looked back out at the ocean again. His heart was still filled with shame when he saw the sight of those waves. After all, he'd personally caused the disappearance of the Hero of Time; perhaps the greatest failure of his life. He was the reason why Link had disappeared. Captain Link felt absolutely horrible. He wished, and not for the first time, that he could turn back time, but what was done was done, and there were worse ways, he thought, to die...

However, suddenly, the Captain noticed something heading towards him from the island to the west. At first, he thought that he must have been seeing things, or that it might even be Tomar, returning to provide some explanation for what had happened, but it wasn't a boat at all. It was... It was a raft!

The Captain could barely believe it, and a smile spread across his face as the raft got closer and closer. He waved energetically to Link after a minute or so, to make sure that the Hero of Time could see him, although he knew that really, there was no need for it. He didn't care, though. He'd never expected Link's plan to work; not in a million years, but somehow, it had. Somehow, the Hero of Time had made things work out.

After less than an hour, the raft got close enough to the island that the captain could reach it, so he swam out to it and climbed aboard. Before the captain could ask any questions, however, Link spoke to him, with a smile on his face.

"The swim was pretty refreshing, really," the Hero of Time explained, "the hard part was finding something to carve an oar with, and a type of vine sturdy enough to use as a rope. I was actually very lucky. I found this within about five minutes of reaching shore."

As Link said that, he held up a rock, which looked as though it had very recently had a sharp edge. At the moment, however, that edge had been dulled slightly by the fact that it had been used to carve wood for the last several hours. The captain was fascinated by what the Hero of Time had just done, and was really looking up to him, but just then, Link said something that he'd never expected to hear.

"Where are we going next?" Link inquired.

"Huh?" the Captain asked back, growing more confused whenever the Hero of Time put a choice on his shoulders, "Why are you asking me?"

"Because you live in this time period. I've never been to this land before. Where do the sages live, and where's Ganon's headquarters located?"

"Um... I really don't know. I'm sorry." the captain replied.

Link was starting to look pretty disappointed by that point, but not terribly surprised. After thinking things over for a minute, though, he seemed to have decided that there were other possible ways to begin tackling the problem.

"What about your people? Ganon is after your people for some reason. Where are they?"

"Well..." for a moment, the captain still didn't know what to say, but that time, since he knew the answer to that question, he eventually decided to give it to Link directly.

"The truth is, they're on islands all across the Great Sea, but our leaders live on Isle Prime, which is located two-hundred, forty-seven miles south of here, and one-hundred, thirty-six miles east."

"That sounds like a good place to start." Link admitted quickly, "I think I may be able to help your people against Ganon, but what we really need is information on the seven sages, and on what Ganon's planning next."

"Seven sages?" the Captain thought to himself, feeling just as confused as before, but their voyage had started by that point, and there was obviously some kind of design behind Link's words. They were journeying across the Great Sea on a tiny raft, with Ganondorf on the loose, and the captain's people on the verge of starvation. The danger was huge, but the Hero of Time didn't seem ready to give up, as if he was sure that there was a way to win out, and for some reason, his hopefulness was starting to rub off on his new friend. That, the captain thought, was probably going to be a big and amazing adventure.


	20. Pt3 Ch3 News of Armageddon

Chapter 3: News of Armageddon

* * *

Link and the captain were at sea for four and a half days straight with nothing to eat or drink. Naturally, both were capable of surviving such conditions, but it wasn't comfortable. Still, they had the chance to tell their stories in greater detail. Link learned about Hem, Tomar, Lenzo and several others, and the captain, in turn, learned about Ruto, Darunia, Stalflare and the others who'd helped Link on his previous missions and quests. By the time they reached Isle Prime, each had learned a great deal more about the other's past.

When the two had finally arrived at Isle Prime, Link let the captain disembark from their raft first, stepping onto one of the beaches, then tied it to a nearby dock post with one of the available ropes. At last, he himself climbed ashore and shook some water from his dripping pants, clearly very glad to be back on land again.

"So," Link said after a moment or two, "what's your plan?"

"Simple." the captain replied, "We go to the council and tell them you're the Hero of Time."

"And then what?"

"And then they'll help us."

However, although the captain thought it was a good plan, Link was already shaking his head sadly.

"You're not really thinking about this. If what you've told me is true, the council can't even help themselves. They may need our help just to survive."

At that point, however, the captain was quite confused. If the council wasn't going to be any help to them, why had they come to Isle Prime in the first place? Did Link have a better plan that he wasn't revealing?

"On top of that, these people have been running out of food for several days." Link continued, "Do you think they'll react in gratitude when they find out that you were the one who caused my initial disappearance?"

The captain's frown deepened even more when Link said that. He hadn't really considered that side of it, but when he took time to stop and think about it, he realized that revealing Link's identity right away would probably be a mistake.

"If they found out the truth, they'd probably feed me to the gyorgs." the captain admitted with a look of deep sadness on his face. Link, however, was smiling by that point.

"Therefore, it should be obvious what we have to do."

The captain was puzzled at first. It didn't seem at all obvious; at least not to him, but he decided to recite what he already knew.

"We can't reveal to them who you really are."

"Which means, of course, developing a false name." Link continued with another smile, "Do you know of any good ones?"

At that point, the captain was back on solid ground again, however. He did indeed know of several good names.

"We can call you 'Menar.'" he said, "It was the name of my last first mate."

"Alright, then." Link agreed, "I'm Menar, and I'm a sorcerer from far away. I also have a military background that we won't discuss any deeper than that."

The captain grinned as he heard Link rattle off those creative plans. He would never have been able to think up those kinds of things by himself, but Link was coming up with them on the spot as if they were nothing. He was obviously very skilled in more than one area. It was going to be very interesting, the captain thought, working with him.

* * *

Less than an hour later, the captain had led "Menar" into Lenzo's living quarters. Naturally, Lenzo found it surprising to be facing a stranger in his own room, and it wasn't really allowed, but there was no point making a fuss over it. There was no point to anything anymore, in his eyes.

Lenzo simply acknowledged the newcomer with a slight bob of his head, not even bothering to get up. Link could tell from his face and posture, however, that Lenzo had already resigned himself to his fate. It would clearly take a lot of work to restore that man's hope again.

"Is something wrong, Councilman Lenzo?" Link asked, without even bothering to introduce himself.

"I'm sure you've noticed by now." Lenzo replied somberly, "There's no food left in our stores. It's been nearly a full day since anyone has had anything to eat. Soon, they'll notice that something's wrong, but there's nothing I can do fix things."

"Maybe I can help." Link responded, reaching into the only bag that he still had with him, "Would you like a carrot?"

The moment that Link said that, Lenzo's eyes opened wide, and he stared at the vegetable in the Hero of Time's hand in awe. At once, he seized it and started studying it in speechless amazement. It was larger and brighter than any carrot he'd ever seen in his life; a beautiful piece of the past. Lenzo couldn't have understood where that carrot had come from or how, and he was obviously very eager to know more.

"Young man..." Lenzo asked incredulously, "Where did you get this?"

The captain, however, decided that the time had come for introductions.

"This is Menar. He's a sorcerer from far away. I met him a few days ago. I think he may be able to save us."

However, just as the captain was saying that, Link turned to face him, and shot him a look of such enormous displeasure, that the captain couldn't help but shrink back away from him. Obviously, he thought, he'd said something wrong, but he couldn't really tell what it was, exactly. For the moment, therefore, he decided that it might be better to just let Link do the talking.

"Amazing," Lenzo remarked, "but the secrets of sorcery were lost ages ago. How did you rediscover them? So you honestly think your magic is powerful enough to save us all?"

"I learned my magic from ancient teachers, and the words and guidance of immortal beings," Link explained, his expression turning more calm and patient as he turned his attention back to Lenzo, "but unfortunately, it's not very powerful, and I'd be a fool to say that I could single-handedly save an entire race of people. My magic doesn't work that way. The most I can do is to help support the rest of you in your own efforts, which reminds me of the reason that I came to you, councilman."

At that, Link's expression hardened, and he seemed very committed when he asked, "What are your current efforts?"

Lenzo's face grew red, as Link asked that question, and he rose to his feet swiftly, walking over to the window, but it was several seconds before the councilman could summon the will to reply.

"Menar, I'm sorry to be such a disappointment." Lenzo finally said, "But I'm afraid that for the moment, our people are starving. They have nothing left to eat, and can't work anymore. The continuing erosion of the land, and the threat of poisonous salt being spread on what little soil we have is preventing crops from growing, and we have no means of correcting that."

"In my experience," Link replied, "The power of the hearts and minds of our people can accomplish any feat. We just need to act with confidence and care."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Lenzo asked, looking a bit irritated, but mostly just sad, "Our ships are gone. Our food is gone. We can't produce any more. The world hasn't given us any solution to these problems, no matter how hard we look."

"When there's no clear solution, do you just give up?" Link asked in reply, but at that point, the captain couldn't help but notice a slight gleam, which seemed to have appeared in the hero's eye.

Lenzo seemed to have noticed something important in Link's words too, because he hung his head in shame. He'd apparently realized that "Menar" was right. Even though there seemed to be no way out, he couldn't just give up. Still, he must have known that convincing the people of that would be a massive ordeal. They were pretty hard to work with anyway. The problem was figuring out how to teach them strength of character, when their stomachs ached from emptiness.

"You speak with great wisdom, Menar." Lenzo admitted at last, "I gave up very recently. Maybe that wasn't wise. I'll tell you one thing, though, Menar; if I thought there was any way out of this situation, I'd pour all my energy into it again. I just wish I had some patch of dry land somewhere. I'd go out and farm it with my own hands if I had to, and I wouldn't stop until we all had at least one bean to eat. Then I'd grab a stick or a rock and attack Ganon with those. There's nothing worse than losing hope."

"The carrot that you hold in your hand was created by this." Link said a moment later, starting to smile again as he indicating the small pouch that hung from his waist, "It's an ancient artifact, that was made in a time when hope and promise flourished like a beautiful cornfield, and as long as you have hope, I can do more to help you."

As Link said that, he pulled another carrot out of his bag, and laid it on the table in the middle of the room.

"With each person's hope that we receive," Link continued, pulling out another carrot, and placing it beside the second, "we become greater. We can survive, no matter what evil things fate has put in our way, as long as we keep hope alive in our hearts, and take the first step together with courage."

For the first time in days, Lenzo genuinely smiled, but it was clear that he wasn't entirely satisfied.

"We can't live on carrots alone." he remarked.

"That's what I meant when I said I couldn't save you by myself." Link replied firmly, "I need the help of every man, woman and child on this island if we're going to win this. The magic inside of me is a gift for everyone, and everyone else needs to make that decision too."

Lenzo looked a bit ashamed once again, but he seemed to understand what Link was trying to tell him.

"It seems like we have no other choice." Lenzo remarked after a few moments, "Over the past couple centuries, our society has degenerated into an almost predatory trade-based one. Maybe, with your help, we can find a better way. I need to discuss this with the council, though."

At once, Lenzo was on his feet, and had left the room in an excited hurry. His spirit seemed almost to have expanded several fold from the thoughts that he'd been dwelling on. However, the captain didn't really notice the difference, and in fact, he didn't seem to have understood any of what Link and Lenzo had been discussing, beyond the promise of a potential source of never-ending carrots. As soon as Lenzo left the room, the captain started speaking again, a little irritated by Link's silent rebuke during the introductions.

"What was that for?"

"You were being foolish." Link replied, looking him directly in the eyes again, "The very idea that I could save everyone from their problems is absurd. I can fight powerful enemies, and help conquer large threats to their survival, but the things that really threaten your people can only be conquered by them, and to be honest, I see this threat of starvation as having done, so far, more good than harm."

"What?" the captain asked, clearly horrified, "More good than harm? Are you nuts? People could die!"

Link frowned, however, as he replied, clearly taking the captain's objection quite seriously.

"That would be an unfortunate catastrophe, but there's still one way for your people to save themselves, and if they choose that path, the people who are left will have better and richer lives. The only way they can overcome the threat of starvation, find a new land to live in, and drive back Ganon is to..."

However, Link never got the chance to finish his sentence, because the door had opened once again, and Lenzo was back.

"I hardly had to tell them two words." Lenzo said eagerly to Link, "They want to meet with you, Menar."

* * *

Less than an hour and a half after arriving on Isle Prime, Link met with the full council in the council chambers. The seven of them sat in the wooden chairs around the center of the chamber, and he stood near the entryway, trying to explain things to them. Naturally, they were suspicious of him, and none of them had ever seen that man before, but if his radical, new ideas could save their people, they seemed willing to throw caution to the wind for a while.

"I have magic that can protect a few people from threats; both inside and out," Link explained to the council, "but I can't protect everyone by myself, and neither can you. I've paid close attention to your past actions for the benefit of your people, and I think I understand why they weren't successful."

However, just at that moment, several gasps of surprise arose from the councilmembers, because Link had begun to remove his boots, and placing them on the floor, between the learned men and women.

"Tell me." Link said, as he stood barefoot in the council chambers, "Will those boots protect me from sharp rocks, splinters and shards of glass, the way they are now?"

"No." Councilman Benar replied quickly, "Of course not."

"Why not?" Link asked, looking confused, "I still have them. They're still in the room with me."

"But they're not on your feet." the councilman replied, looking concerned for the strange, new speaker, "Unless you use them in the proper way..."

Just like that, however, the councilman paused. The captain wouldn't have understood Link's point, but it seemed that the learned councilmembers did.

"You're suggesting that we haven't been using our resources in the proper way." the oldest of the council; Geelin noted aloud.

"Well, that's one way to put it." Link replied, sliding his feet back into his boots, "You see, my boots perform a necessary function, because I keep them attached to me through necessity. I don't threaten my boots, punish them, or reward them beyond providing them with continuing usefulness. They do what they do because they have to."

That time, however, only Lenzo seemed to have understood Link's message.

"The structure of your society needs to be entirely rearranged if anyone is going to survive." Link explained at last, "Considering the lack of ships and manpower, thanks to last week's deployment, if any of us want to survive, we all have to work together, and, difficult as it may sound, we can't afford to think about personal profit anymore."

There was silence in the chamber when Link said that. No one said a word for many minutes, as they considered his proposition. At last, however, Geelin spoke again.

"If it'll save our lives, I'd gladly do whatever is necessary, but will the other people of Isle Prime accept a lifestyle like that?"

"They have to," Link just said in reply, "or else, everyone is going to die."

Geelin fell silent again when she heard that remark, and for a while, she seemed to be deep in thought. That time, however, councilwoman Alis spoke up.

"Menar, your idea is bold, but at this point, all other suggestions have been tried. I'm willing to go along with your proposed economic reform for now, but are you suggesting that we tell our people about the danger too?"

"If they're going to help us, they need to know the truth." Link replied firmly.

"It might cause a panic." Councilman Dran objected.

"But it might also save us all." Link responded.

There was another few moments of silence at that point, as each of the councilmembers seemed to consider the issue carefully. At last, however, Geelin got to her feet with some difficulty. Because of her advanced age, the recent lack of nourishment had been hardest on her, but she was still sound in mind and determination, and she knew that stranger was right.

"I'll make the announcement," Geelin finally said, "and I'll have bulletins posted on the outer reaches of the isle, so that everyone who lives here will know about the problem, and your suggestion. In twenty-four hours, everyone who believes us and wants to survive will report to the courtyard. Then, we'll see how many people accept your plan, but in the meantime..." Geelin added, wincing just a little, "...may I have a carrot?"

Link was already smiling, however, as he pulled another carrot from his pouch, handing it to her.

"I'm giving this to you for free." Link said with a smile, as Geelin took the precious food, "If we're going to have a future, this sort of generosity has to be a part of it."

* * *

That night, the council offered the captain and Link lodgings in two of the unoccupied rooms on Isle Prime. The captain didn't seem to think anything of it, but Link obviously thought it was a nice gesture; especially since they weren't charged a cent for it.

Still, the captain was very puzzled by Link's actions since they'd landed, and by the Hero of Time's strange attitude towards him in particular. Obviously, Link was very confident that his plan was a good one, but he'd periodically ask the captain for ideas, almost as though looking for some alternate solution. In that respect, Link was quite a puzzle, but he seemed not to want to lie to anyone, and obviously hated having to disguise himself; as necessary as he knew it was, for the moment.

All those facts ran back and forth through the captain's head as he tried to fathom Link's intentions. He still wasn't entirely sure that that traveler from another time understood the magnitude of the odds against him ever getting back home again, or what would be involved in accomplishing that, and the captain certainly didn't understand what Link was planning, exactly, but curiosity was certainly one of his most outstanding traits, and although Link would probably try to discourage it in that case, the captain felt like he had to know more about what the Hero of Time was planning.

Before he went to bed that night, he entered Link's room and looked around for him. Link was sitting in a corner of the room, staring down at an old table, which had begun to rot. The captain was as silent as he could be when he approached, but obviously, Link knew he was there.

"It's like looking at the ruins of your own house." Link remarked, a few moments after the captain entered the room, though he was still staring at the table as he spoke, "You remember everything so vividly; all the places where you had dinner, where you read stories and fables, where you wrote the events of the day, and even the bedroom you slept in. Then you leave to go to work for a day, and when you come back, there's a house where yours should be; fallen into disrepair, cracked and rotted at every joint and board, every window broken, every chimney crumbled, and inhabited only by ghosts."

As he said that, Link turned to face the captain, however, and he could see that a tear had formed on the hero's cheek.

"You wanted to ask me what I'm doing, and what my plan is." Link observed aloud, anticipating the captain's request, "Well, what do you think my plan is?"

"I really don't know." the captain replied after a few seconds. He'd never seen another man share their feelings in that way. To him, it seemed awfully bizarre.

"Oh, come on." Link said in dismay, wiping the tear from his eye, and starting to look a bit frustrated, "You heard everything I said, just like the councilmembers did, and they understand what I'm trying to do. You know as much about the people of my time period as they do, and they can't even make the connection between the ancient hylians and me. You can. What am I trying to do?"

"You're..." the captain puzzled over it for a few seconds before he spoke again, "You're trying to get the help of everyone on the island for some mission."

"Yes." Link admitted, "That's the most obvious fact, but how and why?"

Puzzling over the strange mystery, the captain sat down in a nearby chair and thought it over for a while, but although he thought over the evident facts for nearly two minutes, he couldn't seem to draw any conclusions that produced the answers he wanted.

"I can't say." the captain finally replied, "Why don't you just tell me?"

"I'm doing it for your benefit." Link said, a sad look spreading across his face, "I was hoping that the mystery of my motives would teach you how to draw conclusions by necessity. Obviously, though, that'll still take some time."

As he finished saying that, Link stood up and walked over to his bed, laying down on it sideways. However, after several minutes, he sat up and turned to face the captain again, who was still sitting in the chair on the other side of the room.

"You won't leave until I've explained myself, will you?" Link asked in irritation.

The captain merely looked bewildered, but eventually decided that it was a good plan. Link sighed, however, and sat on the edge of the bed with both hands folded in front of him.

"It's like this." Link began, looking impatient, "Hundreds of years ago, your people left Hyrule to live on these mountaintops. When that happened, they forgot how to live their lives richly and right. They started to live by power and greed, instead of by kindness and justice. Now, for a while, they never realized there was any problem with that, because they thought they were the most powerful race in the ocean, so they were free to fight each other. However, when Ganon appeared, all of that changed. Now, there's an enemy strong enough to destroy them all. In fact, if you count starvation, there are two enemies like that. The only way they can overcome those enemies is if they put aside their old ways, stop fighting one another, and start working together with everything they have against their common foes."

The captain considered those words for a moment, but he still didn't quite understand what Link planned to do, exactly.

"What does that mean?" he asked, "Do you mean that we haven't really been working together?"

However, the moment that the captain asked that question, a look of terrifying disappointment spread over Link's features, and he walked over to the door, to show the captain the way out.

"Go to bed and think it over." Link suggested, "If you haven't figured it out by morning, I'll try to explain it again."

The captain didn't like to be left hanging on an important point like that, but it looked as though he didn't have much choice, so he left Link's room and went to bed, with a dozen questions floating through his mind.

* * *

At noon on the day after the following one, the gathering had been scheduled, and although Link had done his best to explain his intentions, the captain still didn't quite understand. It had already been decided that Link himself wouldn't be the one addressing the crowds. In fact, he'd almost bluntly refused to do so during his last meeting with the council, but he'd given councilman Lenzo a speech to deliver to the people of Isle Prime, which he believed contained all the necessary points, and from the looks of things, Lenzo had the Hero of Time's complete confidence.

Over fifty people had shown up in the courtyard; a good sign, since the total population of the island was no more than seventy-five. Link and the captain stood in the courtyard with the rest of the people who'd gathered, and watched as councilman Lenzo stepped onto the white-painted balcony overlooking it. From there, he could speak, and everyone would be able to hear him, so as he spoke, the captain looked over at Link, and saw that he was slowly mouthing every word slightly before it was said by the councilman. The speech, after all, had been written by him, and its words, it seemed, had been memorized by the Hero of Time.

"My friends, we live together on Isle Prime, and for many years, you've relied on this council to protect you and govern you, so that you wouldn't have anything to fear. It makes me sad to report that we've failed to do that."

Naturally, that comment caused many of the people gathered to don very worried expressions, and a couple of murmurs were heard from the back of the courtyard, but Lenzo continued, and his voice was heard above them all.

"This council can't protect you from the grave dangers that we're facing now. There's no food left in our stores, and the evil Ganon is on the rise, destroying everything in his path. Those are the current dangers, and the seven of us, working together, can't overcome them alone."

By that point in the speech, great fear had spread across the faces of many of the people in the courtyard, but they knew Lenzo, and they knew that he must have had a point to saying those things. It was their trust in Lenzo that Link had counted on to prevent a full-scale panic. Lenzo knew everyone on the island personally, and they knew him. They'd believe in his gentle wisdom, regardless of the danger.

"There is, however, one way that our lives can be saved." Lenzo continued, "Despite the severity of the dangers, despite the disaster that approaches us, we may have a chance if we all work together. As I said, the seven of us can't do it alone. We need your help Yona, and your help Eery, and the help of all of you! You have to help us to overcome this time of mortal peril. It's the only way we can survive."

At first, the people didn't seem to understand what Lenzo was saying. Many of them were almost as puzzled as the captain had been, in fact, but with calm patience, he continued to explain himself, in the very words that Link had given him.

"For several decades, we've allowed ourselves to be defined by our economic successes or failures. It became such a part of us, that we defined our worth by money more than anything else, but at this point, none of that matters. All that matters is that if we don't work together with everything we have, we're all in danger of death. We have to put aside our differences, and commit everything we have to our collective defense, because we're facing a common danger, and it's too great for us to overcome in any other way. We can't afford to keep fighting amongst ourselves. I've given up everything since I first became a councilmember, because I wanted to find land, and somehow survive. Unfortunately, I now have to ask all of you to do the same. If you won't agree to do that, you can leave the courtyard now, but if you do agree, then please, stay here, because there are a lot of preparations to make."

At that point, Link was disappointed to see that about three people walked right out of the courtyard as inconspicuously as they could, but fortunately, most of those gathered seemed to understand the importance of what Lenzo was asking them to do. In the days to come, life would be a continual sacrifice for them, but at least they had a chance to live, and protecting their mutual right to life was the only thing that really mattered.

Link continued to listen, as Lenzo listed the responsibilities that each person would have in the near future, but the hard part was already over. The people had acknowledged their responsibility to help protect themselves and one another, and all that remained were the specifics.

Link walked over to speak with Geelin as soon as Lenzo began talking to the individual people gathered there, because she obviously seemed to have mixed feelings about what was going on.

"I expected a bigger turnout." Geelin said, as soon as Link was standing within earshot of her.

"We'll just have to make do with what we have." Link replied, though he made no attempt to disguise his own sadness over that very issue, "Right now, establishing this kind of alliance is all we really need to accomplish."

"Are you saying it was all for nothing?"

"No. When the time comes, I'm sure we'll be able to count on each and every one of them. That's worth a lot. Speaking of which..."

At that moment, however, Link's voice became so quiet, that the captain could no longer hear him, so he crept a bit closer to listen in. When he finally got close enough, though, it seemed as if Link was just wrapping up.

"...was afraid of that." He heard Link say. In response, Geelin made some quiet remark, which sounded like a plea, but the captain couldn't tell exactly what she was saying. Link, however, replied with the words "I know, and I've really been trying, but..."

At that moment, Link seemed to have noticed that the captain was listening, however, and finished with "Well, good luck in your part of this."

With those words, Link spun around and motioned for the captain to join him. The two entered the council chambers through a door below the balcony just a moment later, and Link took a chair, motioning for the captain to take another one nearby.

"You're obviously still curious about me." Link observed, once he and the captain were alone, "Actually, at this point, that's probably a good thing. I need your help."

The captain sat up straight in his chair as soon as he heard that. He was starting to wonder if Link was about to ask him for advice again, or if he had another reason for requesting help from him?

"I need you to give me all the information you have about the Great Sea." Link continued at last, "Locations, islands, resources, and especially old ruins and sages. I'd also like you to stress stone monuments, or texts that no one's been able to read, and urban legends about mysterious old men and women."

Naturally, the captain's thoughts were in a jumble when he heard that request. What, he wondered, could Link want all of that information for? What was the common link between those desired facts? He couldn't figure it out. At last, though, he simply decided to give Link what he wanted, and question the why of it later.

"Alright." the captain said at last, "But it'll take hours if you really want all that information."

"Good." Link replied flatly, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes, "Go ahead."

With a brief shrug, the captain began his explanations, and from that point onward, he spent many hours sitting in that room and reciting everything that he'd learned about the Great Sea in his many travels from memory, which was quite a breadth of knowledge, and all the while, Link listened impassively, sometimes asking for clarification on some points, which seemed trivial to the captain, and sometimes seeming almost to zone out when the captain spoke about things that he thought were very important. At last, when eight o'clock in the evening came around, the captain finished his explanations, and Link had no other questions to ask, so the two stood up, and Link shook the captain's hand with a tired sort of smile on his face.

"Thank you." the Hero of Time said, "That fills in a lot of the blanks. I don't see any reason why we can't start planning an expedition immediately."

"An expedition?" the captain asked, however, feeling confused as usual, "Where?"

"To Headstone Island, of course." Link replied, "I'll set out tomorrow morning with a small crew, and if the information you've given me is reliable, I expect we'll arrive before noon."

"Can I join you?" the captain asked, not really sure what Link expected to find, but eager to be a part of it.

"Actually," Link replied, still grinning, "I was thinking of asking Lenzo to recommission you to head this particular expedition. I don't have any reason to doubt your abilities as a sailor, and I think you might even be able to help me to see things from a fresh perspective."

The captain was almost overjoyed to hear that. Somehow, it made him feel a lot better to be told that he was going to be there during all the important stages of Link's plan.

"I hope you can convince him." the captain said at last, however, drifting back to reality again after a moment, "He seemed pretty determined when he removed me from duty."

However, at that point, Link chuckled in a way that almost conveyed an illusion of arrogance, but was really just amusement and healthy confidence, and when he spoke again, that confidence was just as clear.

"I've been here less than a week," Link explained, "and I've already helped breathe fresh life into his cause and his people. I think he'll listen to me. In the meantime, try to get some sleep. I think you'll be a more effective sailor if you've gotten enough rest."

Then, Link stepped back out into the courtyard to speak with the council again, and the captain was left in the council chambers alone, his thoughts finally focused by a mission, and his face bearing the kind of smile that had evaded him for years.

* * *

Link was up for most of the night, discussing potential crew members with Lenzo. Virtually no one left on the island had ever been charged with operating a sailboat before, but Link was confident they'd pick it up quickly, and anyway, that was why he and the captain were going along. At last, Link had picked out four crew members to join them. The first was a man of about fifty-five, who was a scholar and historian at the top of his class. His name was Rei-nu. The second was a young man of about thirty named Thom, who was a stone-carver and architect. A woodcutter, sculptor and repairman named Trey was the third addition to their crew; a young man of about twenty-five, and their last addition was Harriet; a twenty-seven-year-old girl with a somewhat checkered past. She'd been a criminal at one time, before turning her significant talents toward chemistry, then eventually detective work. Lenzo didn't quite understand why Menar wanted those particular people with him, but he'd done so much for them that there was no arguing about it. However, he and Link did have an argument for a few moments over his choice of ship captain.

"Link is a talented captain." Lenzo finally admitted after a brief debate, "Honestly, only Admiral Tetra ever exceeded him in knowledge of wind, sails, currents, and how to detect and avoid reefs and other obstructions, but... When he goes on a mission, things don't tend to work out. I can't explain it."

"Look," Menar replied, "We're both reasonable people. Link has his heart in the right place, and if he's as talented as you say he is, there's no one else to captain my expedition. I understand his problems and what causes them, but I'm sure he won't do this mission any harm."

At last, though, Lenzo sighed and stood up, rubbing the sides of his head in exasperation.

"Fine," he said at last, "take him, but just be careful. You've already helped us out more than I can even say, and I want to hear from you again."

* * *

With all of that settled, Link and his crew were ready to set out on the very next morning. They were using the captain's old ship, since it was the last ship left on the island that was still in any condition to set sail, although arrangements had been made for the construction of new ships out of virtually every piece of wood left on the island, including chairs, tables, houses, and especially stores. Only a few meeting places were going to be left intact, for the purpose of getting people's attention when the need arose. From that point on, people couldn't afford to live in comfort anymore.

Fortunately, though, enough resources were still available to provide the crew of the Seeker with tools for their journey. Link was the last to appear at the dock. The captain had been first, which was customary, then Rei-nu, then Harriet, then Trey and Thom, who'd arrived almost simultaneously, while Harriet and Rei-nu had been talking about something they were both interested in. However, when Link finally did show up, everyone else seemed ready to go, and for some reason that none of them could explain, they had a feeling of enthusiasm and hope in their hearts, which they hadn't felt for, in most cases, their entire lives. They actually felt as though something about their quest and their goals had changed for the better, but it would have been a wasted effort to ask them to describe it. They couldn't have put that feeling into words any more than they could have described happiness, sadness or anger without referring to other feelings. It was like an aura, which hovered over their ship, and seemed to encircle the fate of their expedition. They couldn't tell what it was, exactly, but they knew that they'd find something new at their destination.

As soon as the rope tying the ship to the dock was released, the captain began giving Trey and Thom (who, aside from Link, seemed to have the sturdiest backs of all the crewmembers,) instructions on how to set up and operate the ship's sail. At the moment, the wind was at their back, and would undoubtedly assist them in getting to their destination much quicker than simple rowing could have. Still, Link looked a bit concerned, and soon motioned for the captain to join him in a closed-off room of the ship, so that they could have a quiet discussion away from their crew.

The room that Link lead the captain into was, oddly, the captain's cabin. It was made of wood, like the rest of the ship, and it had two portholes along one side, and a framed pictograph on the other, but the only other things in the room seemed to be a bed, a candle, and a small table and chair, all of which were made of wood. Only the bed had any cloth on it. Quickly, Link closed the door behind the two of them, as soon as they entered.

"Your friend Tomar is quite the seafarer." Link said, as soon as he was sure that no one else could hear them.

"He got me where I needed to go." the captain conceded.

"That's not the point." Link replied, however, looking stern, "It's been less than a week since you left Isle Prime for the island of the time guard."

"Yes." the captain noted, "I heard something like that from one of the councilmembers. While I was at sea, though, I sort of lost track of time."

"Well, I didn't." Link replied, still with a firm look in his eyes, "I remember exactly how many days it took us to get to Isle Prime. I was rowing for four and a half days, and it took another twelve hours to swim out to the forested island, make a raft, and row back. That means that I've been in your time period for five days; almost exactly as long as you've apparently been gone."

The captain nodded for a moment, but if Link was trying to make a point, the captain didn't understand it. However, his failure to understand seemed to have angered Link, because in a moment, he lost his temper.

"Link of the Great Sea! Is you head just a decoration? I'm trying to tell you that your trip from Isle Prime to the time guard's island took less than three hours!"

Just like that, shocked realization dawned on the captain, spreading across his face like a beam of light, and a look of disbelief followed it soon afterwards.

"L-less than three hours? That can't be right! Tomar said it would take several days!"

"For any normal oarsman in any normal boat, it definitely would have taken several days." Link replied, calming down quickly, "After all, it took us several days to get back, didn't it?"

"So what does that mean?" the captain asked at last, suddenly growing very curious.

"It could mean any number of things." Link said eventually, looking away from the captain, "From what you've told me about him, I suspect he's actually a sorcerer in hiding. He seems to know more about the workings of time and the time guard than he wanted to let on. In any case, he'd be a powerful ally if we could find him again."

The captain was absolutely stunned by that point. He couldn't believe that that simple conclusion had escaped him. He was glad that Link had pointed it out, of course, but he felt very badly about the explosion of agitation that his slowness had provoked in the Hero of Time. He'd disappointed that legendary hero, and nothing about the experience had made him feel good. From that point on, though, the captain noticed a new feeling growing inside of him; a determination to avoid disappointing that legendary hero in the future.

Slowly, he nodded, then opened the doorway back out to the main body of the ship, and Link made no move to stop him, or mention anything else, which apparently meant that that was all Link had wanted to bring to his attention. Even so, however, the captain never considered, for a moment, that Link might have been trying to teach him something with that brief discussion. He was too worried about what Link thought of him, and after all, he did have a ship to command, and people to care for. However, the moment that the captain left that room, Link sat down in a nearby chair and put his face in his hands.

"Geelin," Link muttered to himself sadly, "I'm trying. I really am. This is a massive job, though. I don't think he's capable of learning."

* * *

The ship was only at sea for a few hours before it reached Headstone Island. With their destination before them, they lowered the anchor and prepared the ship's longboat to take them ashore. Only Trey, it was decided, would stay on board for the moment, to man the ship itself, but very little work was required in that respect.

Once ashore, Link approached the center of the island at once, but soon, he'd turned to speak to the captain one more time.

"You were here before, and you said that you smashed a stone head the size of a team of horses, then entered a cave beyond it."

"That's right." the captain replied quickly, as he stepped out of the longboat onto the wet sand.

"Well, it's back." Link simply observed.

The captain only had to look for a moment, to see that Link was absolutely right. Once again, the enormous, stone head sat in front of the door, as though it had never been removed. However, the captain vividly remembered it being smashed to pieces when he was just a child. How, he wondered, could it have grown back?

Swiftly, Link walked over to examine the massive stone, as the captain simply stood there, dumbfounded. Had he missed something when he'd been there before, he wondered to himself? Was there a property to the stone, which allowed it to re-form over time? If so, the captain wondered, had he really been supposed to smash it at all? Was it more than just a barrier? Those questions filled his head almost to bursting, until at last, the Hero of Time discovered something on the inside of the statue head's lips, drawing his attention at once.

"Rei-nu!" Hyrule's hero exclaimed, "Come and have a look at this."

Swiftly, the older man was by his side, examining the lips of the huge, stone head, but after another moment, he stood up.

"There's some sort of writing on the inside of the upper lip, hidden almost completely from view. Unfortunately, it's written in a language I'm not familiar with."

Link smiled, however, as he examined the writing himself. He seemed to see something in that inscription that no one else there could see, and after just a couple of seconds, he remarked, "it's hylian," causing Rei-nu to gasp in surprise.

"The message isn't anything to panic over," Link continued, however, after just a couple of moments, "I learned large parts of this language and many others while I was first learning magic. As far as I know, I'm the only person left who can read it with any accuracy."

For a few moments, everyone there, aside from the captain and Link himself was so shocked that they could barely speak. The language of the ancient hylian peoples was one of the oldest and longest-lost secrets in all the Great Sea. For someone to show up who could read it legibly was a revelation that none of them had expected. Still, there was Menar; the sorcerer from far away, who seemed to simply have the power to make things right, no matter what that entailed, and he was trying to help them find the answers that they needed. It sent hope through all of their hearts, because for the first time in ages, they'd met someone who actually seemed like a hero.

"I also recognize the shape of this stone," Link continued in just a moment, "and it's no wonder that it grew back, captain. This is a herail; a stone of words. The face shape symbolizes the power of sight, sound, smell and speech. It also symbolizes intelligence on some level, but that's not its primary function. The reason it's still here after you smashed it to bits is that this stone is enchanted, and I suspect that the cave it covers is enchanted too."

"But can you tell us what it says?" Rei-nu asked, nearly overcome with curiosity by that point.

"Sure." Link replied with a friendly nod of his head, "It says that it's the signpost of the ancient sages, whose power reaches out since the Great Chaos, and until the end of the universe. It also says that it protects the doorway to one of the sages."

"That makes sense." the captain piped up after just a moment, "I did bring a sage here to pray for the Master Sword eight years ago."

"Maybe," Link noted, although he was frowning when he replied to the captain's explanation, "but I don't think that's what it really means. The sages you told me about... They have a power all their own, but they aren't like the sages of legend. I've only heard you mention two sages, and their charges were different from anything a sage of legend ever represented. This inscription must mean something else."

Bending over, however, to get a look at the writing, Link began to read it aloud, word for word, and as he did so, he heard a noise from the very ground at their feet, which felt like a tremendous rumbling. Suddenly, the stone statue opened its mouth, as quickly as a switch being flipped, and then, a look of recognition appeared on Link's face, and he seemed understand what was going on.

"Of course." Link reasoned with a smile, "The stone of words recognizes spoken words as its key."

With that realization, Link moved closer to examine its lower lip. There, he saw another message, which he also read aloud, clearly hoping that it would produce some result as well.

"You who would seek the sage of water; speak the name of the Hero of Time."

For a moment, Link just stroked his chin, a flattered smile appearing all over his face. Still, it was a short-lived smile, and even the captain could tell that he was starting to feel pretty nervous. After all, Link, it seemed, wasn't crazy about fame, and using his own name as a password must have felt more than a little bit odd.

Moments after he'd said his real name, however, the enormous, stone face opened up, its upper half rising into the air, and its lower half; from the mouth down, sinking into the ground at their feet. Behind it lay a cave in the stone, in the same place as the cave that the captain had found there as a boy, but something about it was different.

"Menar," the captain remarked as the remainder of the stone head disappeared, "This isn't the same cave I explored as a child. It's different. I mean, it's in the same place, but it's not the same."

Link simply nodded, not answering the captain's concerns at all, and soon, he proceeded to step forward, towards the cave entrance. He seemed to understand what had caused that cave to change, but for some reason, he wasn't talking about it.

Once Link was certain that the stone head wasn't going to close around him, he motioned for the others to follow him, but many worried looks were exchanged between the group when he did so. At last, however, the captain knew that that was his chance to impress the legendary Hero of Time. He had to set an example of bravery and reliability, so he was the first to pursue Link into the strange cave, followed shortly and hesitantly by the others.

However, if Link was impressed by the captain's courage, he didn't show it. Instead, he began feeling around the walls, as though searching for a secret switch. He continued that thorough examination of the walls, floor, and even the ceiling as he pressed on through the stone halls that the group found themselves in. After a few minutes of exploration in that manner, Link raised one hand, and they all stopped moving in response. At first, none of them could determine why he'd stopped, but suddenly, the captain began to hear faint noises from far off in the cave. As he listened closer, though, he thought he recognized them.

"Moblins." the captain whispered to Link, who merely nodded in satisfaction. Already, the captain understood what was going through Link's head. Monsters in those tunnels probably meant that Ganon had been there already. Were they too late to find the sage who Link was looking for, the captain asked himself silently, since that was obviously what he was trying to do. Link had gone to a lot of trouble to determine that Headstone Island was the hiding place of the sage of water, and was clearly very worried about him or her. The fact that monsters were there, in that apparent sanctuary was very bad news for Link's plans, and for any sages who'd been using that enchanted cave as a hideout prior to his arrival.

However, when, moments later, Link motioned for the group to stay where they were, and moved on ahead of them, the captain was surprised to see that he hadn't drawn the sword that he'd been given by the council. Soon, he heard the sounds of a vicious battle in the chamber beyond, and against his better judgment, the captain rushed forward, to gaze into the room that Link had entered. There, he saw a sight that truly took his breath away.

The room was a long chamber filled, on the floor and walls, with spikes, and the spiked pits in the floor contained several moblins, whose tough hides had snapped the spikes they'd landed on, but who weren't able to get enough footing to leap back out. Above those pits was a large, stone bridge, which apparently, had been the previous location of the moblins, and there was Link, standing right in the middle of the bridge, looking down at the helpless monsters who he'd just trapped so quickly.

"I need some fire." Link said, looking towards the captain from the center of the bridge as soon as he'd noticed that the young man was there. For the first time since he'd met the Hero of Time, however, the captain felt that he was starting to understand his plan, and pulled an arrow out of his bag. Link watched as the arrowhead burst into flames, and the captain flung it into the nearest spike pit, causing the moblins inside of it to be consumed by fire. In a very short time, the flames had completely engulfed the trapped moblins, finishing them off, and the captain was starting to feel pretty good. It hadn't been much of a fight, but at least, he realized, Link had needed his help, and he'd been able to provide it.

* * *

For the first time in a while, Link genuinely smiled. So, he thought, the captain was capable of learning after all, and even picking up on the plans of the people around him. Still, the intuition that was needed to be a hero was something else entirely. If the young man was going to become a real champion of his people, he was going to have to keep learning, and struggling to improve.

However, Link also had more to worry about than just the captain's development. Monsters were a serious threat to inexperienced fighters, and especially to people who weren't in any physical condition to fight, and that was the reason why, a moment later, Link made another announcement to his team.

"Considering the danger," Link said, looking upwards in thought, "I've decided that Rei-Nu should wait outside. Also, anyone else who doesn't feel like they're up to following orders in a military situation should also wait outside. I think we're going to be going into battle, and we might all be in mortal danger."

Link said that, because he'd seen that Rei-Nu, Harriet and Thom had stepped into the room as well, and he must have known that he had their undivided attention.

Rei-Nu, of course, didn't object. He was a scholar, after all, not a fighter. He seemed a bit disappointed that he wouldn't get the chance to study the ruins in greater detail, but there was no helping it. Besides, Link and the others were about to uncover the real purpose of that stone dungeon, and he could always go back later, if he had any extra time. For the moment, though, his place was on the surface.

As for Harriet and Thom, neither one of them wanted to turn back, away from their captain and mission commander. Harriet just straightened her belt in determination when Link asked if she wanted to go back to the ship. A number of pouches and bottles containing various chemical compounds hung from that belt, and she clearly knew something about the potential uses of each, which, Link thought, was a pretty hopeful sign. In a way, Harriet reminded him of his old ally Byrna, except that Harriet was less experienced, and had gone through a harder life.

Thom had a series of hammers and chisels attached to his belt, as well as some surveying equipment. It probably wouldn't help him much against foes like those moblins, but he was also a powerfully-built man, and his strength and knowledge of construction methods were guaranteed to be useful during their journey.

More important than the skills of the crew, however, Link saw that he'd succeeded in rekindling the flame of hope in the hearts of the specialists who he'd brought with him, and with that hope had come the courage to press on through the trials ahead. To them, he was a savior, and not just in terms of survival. Something had been unleashed in each of them that they'd never felt before.

The captain, of course, was so determined to please Link, that he would have walked into the underworld itself by his side. The weapons and equipment that he'd gathered in his quest as a child made him the most powerful member of that little quartet where sheer might was concerned, though it must have been difficult to feel powerful when standing beside the Hero of Time.

"Now, I want all of you to get behind me in a diamond formation." Link said, as Rei-Nu left, and the other three approached him across the bridge, "That means that two of you will stand behind me, side by side, and the other one behind them in the center. That way, if we're all attacked, the one in back will have another chance to strike the enemy. I don't care who goes where in that formation, though. Work that out among yourselves."

* * *

Quickly, the others decided on a formation, and it took less than thirty seconds to set up. The captain knew that his arrows would be much more useful if he weren't the one in the back, and Harriet felt that many of her weapons would be the same way, so Thom was the one chosen to be in back, with the captain on Link's left, and Harriet on his right.

"Now remember," Link began, as they took their positions, "These enemies aren't like normal hylians; they're monsters. They have powers we don't have, so we need to learn to use our intuition to find their weaknesses. Don't ever attack in a hurry. Draw your enemy out. I've met foes who grew stronger when they were attacked in the conventional way. We have to be prepared for anything. Also, I'm afraid I don't have a lot of time to train you, so if some of you don't know how to fight, you'll have to pick it up by staying alive until you can gather some fighting experience."

Harriet swallowed hard when she heard that, but Thom probably would have scoffed if there'd been a way of doing it respectfully. The captain, however, just smiled. He'd won and lost his share of fights over the course of his life, and already had a great deal of fighting experience. He knew that in battle, at least, he could hold his own.

Link didn't say another word, as he continued to feel along the walls, pressing slowly forward into the chambers beyond. After a few minutes, however, they could see that the next hallway led to a large, open chamber. To the captain, that sight was a very welcome one, after spending so long in those tight hallways, and he stepped forward, towards that chamber before Link could stop him.

Suddenly, a stone wall crashed down behind the group, and only Thom's quick reflexes prevented it from taking off his left leg. Then, another wall came down right in front of them before any of them could react, and small slots opened in the ceiling overhead. The captain had triggered a trap, and from the looks of things, it wasn't through with them yet.

At once, both Link and the captain looked at one another in dismay. The last floor tile that the captain had stepped on has slid about an inch and a half into the floor, which had obviously been the trigger for the trap. Both of them had realized that by that point, but what they really needed to know was how to get out of there safely.

"Do you still have those bracelets you told me about?" Link asked the captain quickly, "The ones that gave you superhuman strength?"

By the time he'd finished asking that, the slots in the ceiling had begun to dispense seawater, and it was almost up to their ankles.

"Do you want me to bust out?" the captain asked, pointing to one of the walls, as the water continued to rise.

"You'll get yourself killed with that kind of reckless attitude." Link rebuked him angrily, "If you go smashing through walls, you'll probably just trigger another trap, even worse than this one. The ancient hylians weren't fools, you know."

The captain winced when he heard those remarks. They didn't have much time left, and it hurt all the more that Link considered it a worthwhile use of that time to scold him for perceived problems with his behavior.

"Thom," Link said, as the water level reached their knees, "This trap was designed to work over and over through time. There must be a way for the water to drain out once the trap is finished. It could be activated by the weight of the water, or it could be timed, like clockwork. Either way, we can't open the drains the normal way. I need you to find the concealed drains so that our rash friend can force at least one of them open."

"Got it." Thom replied, though the water was up to his waste by that point. Quickly, he took a deep breath and examined a section of the floor and the base of the surrounding walls. Then, finding nothing out of the ordinary, he came back up for air. Thom performed that ritual three times, the water getting higher each time, until he finally found something.

By that point, the water level was so high, that there was only about half a foot of air between it and the ceiling, and when Thom surfaced, he could feel the deadly liquid creeping steadily upward along his face.

"The corner of the room to the left." Thom gasped out, "There's a panel there that was added after the rest of the wall was built. Tear it off, and you might find the drain we're looking for."

However, the captain couldn't make a move. He continued to drift helplessly as the water rose around him.

"Go!" Link shouted to him, but to his dismay, the captain still couldn't move.

"Menar!" the captain yelled back, his voice full of misery and terror, "I... I don't know how to dive!"

Link's eyes widened in horrified disbelief, but in a moment, he was on top of the captain, and had yanked the bracelets from his wrists, slipping them over his own. Then, like a true expert swimmer, he dove underwater, and in moments, had used the unnatural strength of the bracelets to wrench open a large section of the wall. There, as he'd suspected, he found the drain, and clung to one of the nearby walls, as the water was sucked down the metallic opening. For nearly ninety more seconds, the water continued to pour into the room and drain out, until at last, the apparent clockwork timer finished its intended task, and the slits in the ceiling closed up, stopping the water flow. Then, the rest of the water drained out of the room, and to everyone's relief, the walls entrapping them retreated back into the ceiling again.

Link was the first to his feet, Thom was second, then the captain. The Hero of Time helped Harriet get up in a gentlemanly way, which was apparently unfamiliar to her, but out of everyone on their team, she'd suffered the greatest loss from the incident. Most of the powders that she'd kept in her pouches had been drenched, completely ruining them. Many she kept in bottles, and those hadn't been damaged, but what she'd lost represented a full day's worth of work. Apart from that, though, and the fact that everyone's clothes were absolutely soaked, there hadn't been any real injuries.

"Thank you, Menar." the captain said, once he'd checked on his crewmen, feeling relieved that everyone was still safe.

The captain hadn't expected Link's next action to be a positive one, but he also hadn't expected Link to lash out so angrily. Without even bothering to remove the strength bracelets, Link punched the captain right in the stomach.

The captain flew backwards, away from the fist of the Hero of Time, like a bug in a hurricane, until he was slammed against the wall behind him. The pain in his back and chest felt like he'd just been rammed by the head of a giant squid. It was worse than when he'd been hit by Ganondorf. That was pain like nothing he'd ever felt before, and not just physically. The emotional pain of having so thoroughly failed the Hero of Time only made it worse.

"Keep your mouth shut and your ears open," Link said with absolute fury lining every word as he spoke them, "You may be the captain of the Seeker, but I'm the one in charge of making sure this mission works out. Even you have to obey my orders as long as we're ashore. Your over-eagerness put this entire expedition in grave danger. From this moment on, you won't speak unless I tell you to. You won't move an inch unless I give you permission, verbal or otherwise, to do so. I'd love to think that I could trust you as a teammate, but obviously I can't, so instead, you'll be a part of me. If you fail to perform that function, I just won't allow you to join me in these missions anymore. Do you understand me?"

The captain was still in too much pain to speak, but the sorrow and penitence in his eyes spoke volumes to someone like Link.

* * *

Not bothering to wait for the captain to regain his footing, Link turned back to the corridor and continued to slowly feel his way along it, inch by inch. As badly and as deeply as he'd hurt the captain, however, he was hurting too. Since coming to that time period, Link had given the captain the benefit of the doubt, even trying to teach him on occasion, and just when the captain seemed as though he was learning something, he'd endangered all their lives through simple carelessness. He had to learn that his actions had consequences. He had to learn to take responsibility for himself and his deeds. That wasn't even about becoming a hero. That was the difference between a boy and a man. If the captain, at his age and station, still hadn't learned that, then he might be an even more hopeless case than Link had originally thought.

* * *

Neither Harriet nor Thom knew quite how he'd managed it, but somehow, Link seemed to have obtained a full knowledge of what each of them could do in a very short time. The moment they'd stepped into the next room, Link ordered Harriet to give them some cover, as though knowing instinctively that she could use some of her bottled chemicals to set up a quick steam cloud. Moments after that, The captain was ordered to use his fire arrows against the visible moblins, and leave the other monsters to his teammates. Link leapt into the heart of his opponent's ranks, slicing open two fish-creatures, and cutting the armor off an ironknuckle. Thom had whipped out one of his larger hammers, and was swinging it back and forth to distract most of the armored enemies, as Harriet used a small knife to cut the straps of their armor, one by one. The enemies lying in wait in that room had outnumbered them nearly four to one, but the battle was over in less than thirty seconds.

"If Ganon has been here," Link said, the moment that he'd decided the room was secure, "he'll have left more than these weak beasts to guard this place. He can read hylian just as well as I can, and he knows the power of the sages as well as anybody. I doubt this skirmish was anything more than a warm-up."

They all looked over the room for a few moments, at first. Wooden boards and stone blocks were scattered from place to place across it, as well as burn-marks and scratches in the walls and floor. The entire chamber was, as usual, made of solid stone, but that chamber also had an exit, at the far end of the room; a metal doorway which, apparently, was unlocked.

Harriet had been terrified of the enemies they'd be forced to face since Link had first mentioned that they'd be going into battle, but having been in an actual fight, she was beginning to understand the mechanics of organized team combat, and as she started to understand it, it seemed to drive away her fear somewhat. Those beasts that they'd been fighting definitely had some unusual powers, but she knew that together, they could stand up to them and win. Warm-up or not, she thought, no monster was going to stop them.

Link, however, knew that there was a very real danger involved in confronting Ganondorf and his minions. He already had plans to find the sages of Hyrule, or at least their successors, but he knew that it would definitely be more difficult than he'd suspected at first.

Still, there were courses of action that he was in the habit of taking when faced with a powerful enemy, and one of them was to be the first to run into it. Motioning his group to stay back, Link opened the iron door. He could sense a powerful presence in the room beyond, and in a few moments, he'd stepped into that room. The captain, not wanting to seem cowardly, stepped in after him, followed by Harriet and Thom, all of whom were careful not to stray too far, remembering the trap that the captain had set off earlier.

"There don't seem to be any traps in this room." Link muttered to the others softly, to reassure them that they were in no danger of triggering another "accident." Still, that wasn't the danger that Link was really worried about. On the other side of the room, staring directly at him, Link could see what looked like a man, dressed in puffy red pants, a blue shirt, and green gloves. As he stared into the eyes of that oddly-dressed man, Link began to get worried. His past experiences with people who wore odd costumes like that had taught him that they tended to be very powerful fighters.

"How long are you going to stare at me before you attack?" Link asked the figure aloud.

Just then, the door slammed shut behind him with a bang. Harriet, Thom and the captain all turned to look at it in alarm, but Link never took his eyes off his opponent for even a moment.

"I've already attacked in the only way I will." the man replied at that point, "You're in my power, now."

The captain was flabbergasted when he heard that, however.

"That's ridiculous!" he blurted out, "All you did was close the door somehow! I could slice you wide open right now!"

However, by that time, Harriet had a worried look on her face, because she'd already tried to open the door.

"The door's locked," she said, making no attempt to hide the worry that she was feeling, "or else it's jammed shut somehow."

For a moment, the mysterious man risked a glance over at the others, then looked back at Link, saying, "Your children like to gibber, I see. Try to quiet them down."

"I think you'd better tell us who you are and how you intend to keep us in here." Link just said, however, in a threatening tone.

The man looked a bit disappointed with that remark, but he made a short bow in Link's direction, and said "My name's Ram, and I'm the master of reflections. Also, there's another doorway behind me, but it's shut as tightly as that one. Neither strength, skill, or magic spells will give you the power to open those doors, or break through these walls either, because every single one of them is under my power."

Link blinked for just a moment, in obvious confusion, as if wondering if the man's words were intended as some kind of riddle. However, as Link continued to stare at his foe, he struggled to remember the things that Zelda had taught him about power auras, and detecting the strength of his enemy. Slowly, Link rubbed his temples and blinked again several times. Princess Zelda could have done it easily, but for Link, not being a member of the royal family, it was a chore. Still, after the third attempt, he began to sense a fog-like presence around them, as though some ambient force were filling and surrounding the entire chamber. At that moment, Link understood Ram's claims. His power filled the whole room, but what form, Link wondered, would that power take?

However, the captain, it seemed, didn't have the slightest idea of the power of his enemy, and was still horribly angry after having been called a child. Almost without thinking, he drew his sword and charged the oddly-dressed man, slicing him cleanly in two.

"You fool!" Link yelled in alarm, the moment the captain had made his move, "He might have been the only person who could have gotten us out of here!"

The captain's face flushed horribly as he realized that he'd taken yet another rash action, and might have very well doomed them all, but suddenly, he heard the voice of Ram, seeming to come from two throats that time, and speaking out to them both.

"Don't be silly. If you could kill me, my power would vanish, and you'd be free to go."

Quickly, the captain spun back around, to where his enemy had been lying on the ground moments before, and gasped in horror. Where there'd once been merely one decapitated opponent, there were suddenly two perfectly healthy ones. In a moment, each grabbed the captain by one arm, and they threw him back against Link with their combined strength.

"Unfortunately for you," they two Rams both said simultaneously, as Link caught the captain to prevent him from hitting the stone floor, "this is one of the effects of our power, and the reason why attacking me will only cause you horrible torment. Everyone who's under my power is incapable of being slain. Strike them down, and more of them will appear. Strike them down too often, and this entire chamber will be crammed with your broken bodies, without room enough even to scream, as you multiply against impenetrable barriers. The same would happen to me, of course, but I'm incapable of feeling pain, and I can turn my power off whenever I want."

He recited those horrors as though they were toys; simple playthings to amuse himself with, but Link winced at the horrible cruelty of that individual. Clearly, he was a monster of some kind, in the shape of a man, but his powers were so strange, that they frightened even Link somewhat.

The captain, though, had much different feelings. He was embarrassed over having been beaten so badly, and not the least bit frightened of that opponent or his trap. Swiftly, he charged Ram again, and began slicing back and forth with his weapon, waving it without any technique or strategy, as though it were a baton. In mere moments, however, a hand grabbed him from behind, and slammed him into the ground hard, causing a duplicate of himself to appear next to him.

"That was wise, young man." thirty voices, all belonging to Ram, said to Link, "Your friend is both rash and stupid. There's no way out of this place."

Link was most certainly worried by that point, but he also had a plan. The captain sat on the floor by that point, with his clone sitting parallel to him, both staring open-mouthed into one another's eyes. It was like looking in a mirror, except that it wasn't natural, which made it that much more terrifying. The captain had never been in a stranger situation than that.

"You know," Link remarked at last, "I have a feeling that most of your power comes from this room."

"My power comes from me." Ram replied, looking just a bit indignant, "I create flying, invisible particles, which project my power outside of my body, but without my mind to control them, they'd all die. However, since you can't kill me."

"You don't think that's a little boring?" Link asked in the end, however, "What kind of accomplishment is that? It's just a stalemate."

For a moment, no words were spoken. At last, however, the many Rams replied to Link's objection.

"I'm not a fighter," they said, "I have no need to prove myself against opponents. My only task, for now, is to keep you all here, or to kill you using my powers."

"But they're not strictly yours." Link pointed out, "Your powers change everyone and everything in this room."

As he said that, Link looked back, casting a strict glance at Harriet, Thom and the two Captains, as if to say "You four get back and leave this to me."

"I summon and dispel my powers." the Rams replied, "Therefore, they're mine. The effect they have on others doesn't concern me as much."

By that time, however, Link's allies had all gathered together by the doorway, and a great, big grin had spread across his face.

"Then you'd better do some re-evaluating, Ram." Link exclaimed, his grin growing larger with every second, "Because you ought to be concerned."

Link only had two weapons on him; his sword and the bracelets that he'd taken from the captain, but he knew that it would be enough. Drawing his weapon, Link plunged it directly into his own left arm.

Harriet screamed when Link did that, but they could only watch him, and try to trust him, and indeed, moments later, there were two of Link. Then, each of them performed the same action, and soon there were four. That process continued, until there were over sixty of Link, and the room had begun to get a bit crowded.

"Fool." the Rams remarked indignantly, "You're only accelerating your own fate. No matter how many of you there are, you can't break out of this room."

"Maybe you're right." the Links all replied simultaneously, "But can we break back in?"

Suddenly, one of the Links vanished in a green flash of light, then another and another. In mere moments, most of them were gone, leaving only fifteen or so left in the room, and in seconds after that, there was a banging and crashing sound on the door, and suddenly, it and its surrounding walls came crashing down, and there stood three Links, each wearing magic bracelets, and each continuing to tear apart the wall with their hands. A fourth yelled to Harriet, Thom and the captains, "Hurry! Get back to the surface!"

The members of Link's team ran at that point, just as he'd directed them to; fleeing the room they'd been trapped in moments before, and in less than ninety seconds, they emerged from the cave; horrified, confused, and out of breath.

Rei-Nu was so astonished at seeing the two Captains, that for a moment, he couldn't speak. However, when his voice returned, he asked only one question; not about the captain's clone, or the results of their exploration. He only asked a question that he thought he could understand the answer to.

"What happend to Menar?"

"He's still mostly down below, fighting a monster." Harriet replied, still looking very worried for the brave hero who'd just saved her life.

* * *

"It's over, Ram." one of the Links said, stepping through the crowd to confront the monster, "Your room isn't secure anymore, and your power's backfired. Now that we both know the secrets of your ability, we can make as many clones of ourselves as we want, but it won't change the result of our fight."

"I don't understand!" one of the many Rams exclaimed, "How did you get out of this room?"

"Teleportation." Link replied firmly, "I can transport to an enclosed area that I've been in before, through a spell called Farore's Wind."

"Then we're at a stalemate." Ram replied, sweating profusely by that point, "I can't kill you, but you still can't kill me, or get past me to the inner chamber."

"Yes," Link replied, however, his expression darkening as he spoke, "I can if I have to."

As he said that, the blood seemed to drain from Ram's face, but Link continued to speak, his voice as stern and terrifying as ever.

"With my sword, I can make all the clones I need, and with the bracelets of strength, each one is stronger than you. All they have to do is carry you and your clones up through the dungeon to the surface, and hold you underwater for about an hour and a half. Then, I suspect your power would dissipate, and our quest could continue, but I'd much rather just get it over with now."

Ram continued to sweat as several Links advanced on him with their arms outstretched. However, when he realized the futility of his position, Ram screamed in horror for the first time since Link had encountered him, and fainted dead away.

Suddenly, as Ram fell to the floor, the door at the other end of the chamber was unlocked, and there was only one Ram, one Link, and one captain. Link sighed, partly with relief, and partly with disappointment. It had been comforting to work alongside someone who understood his plans without even having to be told.

* * *

As the group on the surface discussed what to do next, clouds of smoke began to cover the captain's clone, and soon, the unnatural creation was gone, and there were only four people standing on the beach. That certainly surprised most of them, though after having watched the mass-replication of Menar, very little could truly shock them anymore.

"I know what that means." the captain remarked, as soon as the smoke had faded away, "Menar defeated Ram somehow."

"That's a relief." Harriet replied with a sigh, though she didn't exactly look relieved.

"I'm going to go congratulate him." the captain said immediately, rushing for the entrance.

"What?" Thom asked, looking as though he didn't think much of that plan, but more importantly, he must have been worried about what Menar would say, "Look, Menar told us to come out here, and we did. I don't think he wants us to go back in."

"But what if he was injured in the fight? What if he needs help?" the captain asked, looking a bit worried, but more eager to find out what, exactly, had happened to Hyrule's hero.

"If he's injured, we don't have any doctors on board." Rei-Nu pointed out, "Any medicine we made would be guesswork at best."

"I can't just leave him down there." the captain protested, "He might be our only hope."

"Fine, then." Thom finally said, "You go ahead. We'll stay behind. I just hope, for your sake, that he wants you in there."

So, with only a moment's hesitation, the captain was off running down the cave tunnels again, carefully avoiding the trap that he'd fallen into before...

* * *

As the captain made his way through the cave, going the way he had before, he could see that virtually every door and wall between the cave entrance and the room where Ram had attacked them was in pieces on the floor, having been torn apart by bare hands. He shuddered as he pictured all those unnatural clones of the Hero of Time, each with the massive, superhuman strength of his bracelets, punching and clawing through stone and metal, as if it was just ordinary topsoil. It was a power unlike anything that the captain had ever seen or considered, and it terrified him. Still, it was Ram, not Link, that he was really terrified of.

The captain had expected Link to make some snide remark when he entered the chamber where they'd been attacked by Ram, but as he climbed over the rubble that had once been the doorway into that chamber, he saw the last thing that he'd expected. Link was gone, and Ram was still there, and still alive. In fact, he was sitting with his legs crossed in the center of the chamber, and as the strange being cast his gaze upon the captain, he couldn't help but feel a chill travel up and down his spine.

"Your friend is in the next room." Ram said, as though he hadn't, mere moments before, been trying to kill anyone. Swiftly, the captain dashed across the room, and through the door beyond, and was only kept from crashing right into Link by the fact that the Hero of Time noticed his approach, and grabbed him before he could get into a collision.

"I'm impressed that you got here without drowning this time." Link muttered flatly.

"Hey, I learn from my mistakes." the captain replied with some anger in his voice, "What happened? Why's Ram still alive?"

"We'll deal with Ram later." Link replied pretty coldly, "I'd rather not talk about him behind his back."

At that point, the captain started rifling through the concerns that had been bothering him, one by one, though he didn't say a word about them, because he was afraid that Link wasn't going to take any of his requests or complaints well. Link had decided not to kill Ram for some reason, but also, he was choosing not to even talk about it at the moment. Maybe it was simple politeness, but it seemed much more likely that there was something of much greater importance, which Link was concerned about at the moment. However, what that thing could have been was still a puzzle to the young sailor.

"What are you searching for now?" the captain finally asked, "The sage of water?"

For a moment, Link just looked surprised, but then he actually smiled, as if the captain had said something that had really cheered him up. However, instead of replying, the Hero of Time walked silently into the further parts of the chamber, and that was the first time that the captain took his eyes off of Link, and got a chance to look around. the carved stone of the last chamber had melted into a rougher stone surface, which opened out into a basin at the center of the room. The basin was easily ten yards across, maybe more, and filled with water. The captain was somewhat surprised to see a lake so far underground, and as he looked at the waters, he realized that he couldn't see the bottom at all. However, Link stepped forward, towards the lake, and spoke out in a loud voice, as if he were trying to get someone's attention.

"I'm Link; the Hero of Time! I'm seeking the help of the sage of water!"

Suddenly, almost as soon as Link had finished speaking, a distortion started to form; not in the water, but in the air above it. The appearance of the air seemed to waver, as though it was made of water itself, and ripples were running through it. Then, suddenly, as the effect dissipated, a figure appeared in front of them, but a figure that was different from anyone the captain had ever seen.

It was the figure of a man dressed in blue and white robes. They weren't anything terribly expensive-looking; just ordinary woven clothes, in the shape of long robes, with a few unusual symbols woven onto the chest and arms. The entire outfit seemed intended as an inexpensive ceremonial uniform, and there'd been nothing like that in the Great Sea for as far back as the captain could remember.

However, the man himself was even more surprising. He also had small slits on his cheeks, which seemed designed to open and close in different environments, and his hair was jet black, without a strand of gray anywhere in it. His eyes were blue, with a focus and balance to them that the captain had only seen before in the Hero of Time himself, and he seemed to have gone at least two days without trimming his beard, which was rough-looking, even when the rest of him seemed extremely composed.

Then, however, the captain realized something else about that man; something that made him blink several times, and stare in wonder. He was standing on the water, as though it were a solid surface.

For a moment, Link and the sage simply looked into each other's eyes, but at last, both seemed satisfied, and sat down with their legs crossed; Link on the stone, and the sage on the water. Taking his cue, the captain did likewise, seating himself just behind Link, and a bit to the left. Finally, though, the sage spoke.

"The Hero of Time lived many hundreds of years ago, but I can see that you're a good man, who doesn't want to harm me, or anyone else. I've seen that in the reflections of your soul. Also, I see that you're powerful, since you've defeated my grandson in battle."

The captain was incredibly startled by that, however, and scrambled to his feet, exclaiming, "Your grandson? You mean that guy that just tried to kill us, and probably would have enjoyed it, and that guy who looked older than you..."

The captain didn't say any more than that, however, because both Link and the sage were staring at him by that point. At last, however, after another few seconds of uncomfortable silence, the sage let out a brief chuckle.

"Yes," he said, "Sit down, my young friend. I understand your confusion. You live in a different world, where everything is what it looks like, and you've grown accustomed to believing in what you can see. That was the cause of the great exile, and the reason you're all in terrible danger now, but if you want, I'll try to explain things for you."

Slowly, the captain did sit back down, ashamed of his recent outburst, though he was relieved to see that Link had stopped glaring at him by that point, so he quickly turned his attention back to the sage of water, who continued to sit on the surface of the basin, as he told the story of his own past.

"I wasn't personally present during the time of the flood, but detailed legends were passed down by previous sages of water about what occurred just after it. For over fifty years, the sages continued to grow in knowledge of their charges, learning new secrets of water, forest, spirit and so forth. During those fifty years, they also struggled to use their power to help the survivors of the catastrophe. For a while, the people even looked to them as heroes, and at the time, heroes were desperately needed. Then, one day, the former king of Hyrule resurfaced. He was always a powerful psychic, and most people knew that his lifespan was enormous, thanks to his royal heritage, but very few knew that he had the power of teleportation, and apparently, he also had a boat, which he could control through psychic possession."

"The King appeared on one of the most populous islands of the Great Sea, and began to teach people more about the old ways. However, most of the people left alive were the children of those who'd been present during the horrible flood, and didn't remember Hyrule at all, and the more the King talked about the old ways; the ways of true justice and righteousness, and the methods of teaching those things, the less they listened. Those people had begun to accustom themselves to life in the sea, and didn't want to feel as though they needed to be sad over having lost so much from the previous generation."

"Naturally, we sages took no hand for or against the king at the time, and it may have been because of that that he took action against us."

"The people of the Great Sea didn't want to hear about what they'd lost, but a scapegoat... something to pin the blame on for everything wrong in their lives. That interested them. When the king blamed the sages and the Hero of Time for failing to protect the land of Hyrule, it was the start of the most wicked public movement ever conceived."

"I think the King thought that by doing that, he could regain a position of public respect, but he was destined never to rule again. The people paid no further attention to him after that day, and, discouraged, he set sail for other parts of the world. However, the people did act on his claims, and very soon, the seed of blame that he'd placed in their minds blossomed into distrust for the sages. They saw the sages as a fragment of the old world, which had failed them from that day on, and within a year, all those with the blood of the sages were forced into exile from that island and many others."

"Being faced with a separation from the societies of the Great Sea, the sages had two choices left. Either they could travel to some far away island and die a lonely death, forgotten by their people, or they could take their families and travel to other areas of the world, where they could begin to make a life for themselves in their own way."

"Naturally, to most, the answer was obvious. The sages of Spirit, of Shadow, Water, Fire and Light all chose to create hidden homes for themselves, which, in the hundreds of years that have gone by, eventually grew into entire villages dedicated to those forces. However, something happened to the sages of Time and Forest. They also left, but as near as I can tell, not with any intention of starting a new life for themselves. They may still be alive somewhere, or they may not, but we've lost contact with them, I'm afraid. That, I believe, should answer all the questions you had."

The water sage had really been saying all of that to Link, but a moment later, he turned to look at the captain again, and continued, "Now for your questions about me personally. I started out like all other sages of water, growing up in the village of water, dreaming of one day becoming the sage, learning the many techniques and methods of thinking that a sage has to know. I made many mistakes, and recovered from a lot of difficulties, until eventually, at the age of fifty, I was appointed the sage. That was based on a unanimous decision by all the wisest students in the village of water, that I was most fit to represent our village as its greatest champion, and thus, most fit to be the next sage of water. Now, to become a sage of water, one has to master the techniques of water. Those are many and difficult. They consist of over a hundred intense disciplines that are based on the knowledge that the body itself is mostly water, and on the natural workings of water flows. One of those disciplines taught me to stand, sit and lie on water as though it were land. Another tied my lifespan into my body's liquid components, and water doesn't age; it merely changes shape."

"That's why you look so young!" the captain exclaimed in amazement.

"Yes indeed." the sage replied with a friendly, calm smile, "I've mastered several other disciplines as well, but that should answer one of your questions. However, you also asked a much darker question; a question about my grandson's attitude in battle."

"To be honest," Link interrupted, "I'm curious about that too. He said that he wasn't a warrior, but he seemed to relish the idea of killing us, like some kind of monster created by evil. How could such a horrible person descend from a man as balanced as yourself?"

The sage of water closed his eyes tightly, however, as though examining those visitors with his other senses. At last, he spoke again.

"As you've suspected yourself, Link." he finally said, "That's largely Ganondorf's doing."

Link and the captain's faces hardened when they heard that, however. They both knew that only rarely did Ganondorf do good things, and that was likely to be a very tragic tale.

"At one time," the sage of water began, "Ram was the kindest, gentlest soul you ever met. In his childhood, he had some difficulty in achieving recognition for himself, but it pushed him to increase his powers, and soon, everyone began to refer to him, not as the sage's grandson, but as the master of physical reflection. Yet, he never let it go to his head. He knew that his skills weren't enough to make him a sage of water, and yet, it didn't bother him much. His strongest aspirations were to help other people, and his greatest cares were for their wellbeing. He loved fish, flowers, water, stone, and the people in his life. In fact, he loved everything his world was made of."

"At that time, our village; the village of water flourished. Over fifteen teachers trained almost eighty students in the art of water magic. One could reach it merely by swimming to the other end of this lake, which leads to another underwater cave. Our village contained nearly two hundred people when one added up the men, women and children. Over half of those people had mastered some technique of water, whether they aspired to become a sage or not. Still, there were others who only wanted to protect their village from outside attack, by guarding the inside of that cave, just like Ram was trying to."

"That, however, was before Ganondorf." Link observed aloud, "He came into this area himself, invaded your village, and ruined your lives."

"You seem to know him well." the sage muttered, sounding astonished, but still not completely convinced of Link's identity, "He killed all five of the guards we had posted, then stormed into our village and slaughtered nearly every student and teacher. The few left alive knew their powers wouldn't be enough to overcome him, but some tried anyway. One of those who was the first to rush Ganondorf as he sought me out was my grandson Ram, who received a burning hole through the chest as a reward for his courage."

"My gods!" the captain exclaimed, horrified, "How did he survive?"

"He didn't." the sage of water replied, "He was dead within moments. At that point, I confronted Ganondorf myself. I didn't think I could defeat him, but I had to do what I could to save my people, and as he looked into my eyes, he seemed to realize something about me and the village of water that he hadn't considered before. For a while, he stared, as if looking into my very soul, and at that moment, he gave me an almost reverent bow, then said 'stay out of my way, or more will die.' Moments after that, he was gone."

"My grandson's body was carried to my tent after the fires had been extinguished, and I began using my powers over the water in his body to reshape his remaining tissue in an attempt to seal up his wounds, but almost as soon as I succeeded at that, his eyes opened wide, and I could see that something besides merely my grandson was living in them. I suspect that some evil spirit traveled with Ganondorf to the village of water, and has since corrupted the soul of my grandson. For whatever reason, bloodlust and cruelty now inhabit his heart. At times of peace, he can be just the same as the young man who willingly sacrificed himself to protect his people, but at times, I could swear that he's nothing but a monster in the form of a boy. Even so... The thought that he's sometimes my grandson makes it impossible for me to kill him. He's not malicious to me, and I pity him, because of what he's become, but alive or undead, he's still my grandson, and I still care about him. Maybe one day, if Ganondorf ever dies, my grandson will find true peace."

"For now, we have to deal with him as he is." Link observed discontentedly, "There's a horrible beast inside of him that seeks catharsis for its most primal emotions, but he was right to say that he's not a real warrior. I promise that I won't kill him unless he doesn't leave me any other choice, great sage."

"Thank you," the sage replied with a smile, "which reminds me... I still haven't told you my real name. You can call me Sage Obo. If you want to be called Link, I won't object, but what can I call you, my young friend?"

As he said that, however, Sage Obo looked over at the captain, and he felt a little odd over being put on the spot like that. After all, he could have told Sage Obo his real name, but it was liable to get confusing.

"Actually," he eventually said, "my name's also Link, but everyone just calls me 'captain.'"

"'Captain' it is then," replied Obo, still smiling.

"One more thing." Link added after a moment, "In the company of others, I'd prefer if you'd just call me 'Menar.'"

"Why?" Obo asked, suddenly looking curious.

"I think it might cause trouble if people knew I was the Hero of Time." Link explained, "You see, I was brought here by unnatural time travel."

"By the goddesses!" Obo exclaimed, his eyes suddenly widening, "That's why you never appeared when Ganondorf returned to Hyrule, isn't it?"

"I think so." Link just responded, seemingly not wanting to say anything too definite, "The captain sitting behind me was the one who set things in motion, but if I'm going to get back, I need your help to repair the damage that's been done to the time guard."

Obo looked Link in the eye again when he said that, however, as if studying him, to try to find something that he hadn't been able to see before.

"So," he said at last, "the time guard's involved. Unfortunately, I don't know how to repair it myself. I have a few techniques I can use for the shaping of stone, but the time guard is much too complicated for me to understand, much less repair alone."

"That's why I have to keep searching for the other sages." Link replied, "Maybe we can fix it if we all work together."

"I can give you the locations of the villages of Shadow, Light, Fire and Spirit." Obo said at last, "But I'm afraid that reaching them and finding their sages might not exactly be safe."

"I understand." Link replied with a nod, "One more thing. If everthing that you said about the exile of your people is true, then I think that what's left of your village should try to rejoin the other peoples of the great sea in their society."

"Yeah!" the captain exclaimed quickly, "Nobody even remembers you being exiled in the first place. I didn't even know about it until you told me just now. I'm sure they'd love to have your help."

Obo was silent as he listened to that request, but at last, he said "The people of the Great Sea decided not to associate with us because they wanted to make their own society. Their pride and their foolishness cost them our help long before I was born."

"It cost them a lot of other things too." Link replied, looking disappointed and sad, "Their defenses against Ganondorf, a place to live, and their supply of food. The few that are left are close to starving, and have only survived this long by discarding the social structure of their past, in favor of a method of teamwork and strong leadership that will get them closer to survival. At this moment, though, their race is so close to death, that they'll discard any grudge or selfish pursuit in order to survive. They've been badly humbled."

"Then they've gotten what they deserved." Obo replied angrily, "They've gotten what they needed for so long! I can't feel any pity for them. What they did to my people has effected me since before I was old enough to walk. I've been punished and excluded by them since I was born, and all because they chose their pride over their protectors. They chose to value themselves over the people they needed most, and it cost them forever."

"Why do you dive so readily into those same mistakes, Obo?"

Both Link and Obo opened their mouths wide at that moment, and turned to look at the captain, who, once again, was standing, with both fists clenched in front of him in anticipation. Link's expression was one of absolute shock for longer than Obo's was, though. Obo's face quickly changed, showing horrible feelings of anger, and nearly three seconds later, Link's expression turned into a very genuine smile, as if he was finally feeling satisfied with something that he'd done, or rather, something that the captain had done. In fact, the captain was starting to feel satisfied too, because he knew that he was finally becoming a real man.

"You just condemned a whole race of people for indulging in their foolish pride, instead of relying on the help of others when they needed it, Sage Obo," the captain exclaimed, "but don't you realize that you're doing the exact same thing? You've been attacked; struck to the heart. Your people have been killed, your grandson has been corrupted by an evil spirit, and the secrets your students and teachers have learned have been lost forever. Your survival has been threatened, but your pride prevents you from looking for the help you really need. Armageddon is coming for you and your people, just the same as it is for mine. Why can't we stand together now, and maybe save all of us? Is your arrogance worth that much? Are you really going to make the same mistake that the people who exiled you made? Don't you want to be a better man than them?"

For a moment, no one said anything. Obo simply continued to stare at the captain in anger, and Link in pride, until, feeling that he'd overstepped his boundaries, the captain unclenched his fists and sat back down, muttering, "Well, that's what I think anyway."

A moment later, however, the Hero of Time had burst out laughing, and Sage Obo seemed to have lost his concentration, because he sank into the water a bit, and had to swim to shore.

When he'd climbed back onto the stone floor of the cave, however, Obo cast Link something of a dirty look, then said, "You were about to say the same thing, weren't you?"

"In a heartbeat." Link replied, still chuckling to himself, "But I'm glad the captain did it first."

"Yes." Obo replied with a wry smile, "Me too, in a way. It proves how obvious it was, which in turn, proves what a fool I am."

Obo and the two Links quickly got to their feet together, and that was when the sage spoke again, sounding very humbled by what had just been said.

"I'll agree to your suggestion, Link, and I'll do what I can to convince my people to try to rejoin the others, but there are those living in the village of water who won't agree to this."

"That's alright." Link replied, "They'll have to make their own decision about the direction they want their lives to take. I just hope I can meet you again."

"I hope you can find the other sages." Obo replied, shaking the Hero of Time's hand, "Now, listen carefully, and I'll tell you where the other villages are located..."

* * *

Obo and Link continued to talk, mostly about specifics and technical directions from one place to another, which the captain found pretty boring, so he wandered out of the cave, back into the room where Ram was sitting. When he looked at Ram, the captain couldn't help but see the man who'd attempted to murder him, but suddenly, he also saw the boy who loved his people, and charged bravely into battle against a horrible enemy. He looked carefully into Ram's eyes for a few minutes, as though expecting the monster to return, but it didn't re-emerge. For the moment, it seemed, Ram had decided to be docile.

The two simply continued to look at one another for about a minute and a half, at which time Link emerged from the room beyond, however, and sat down in front of the water sage's grandson with a stern look on his face.

"I'm leaving this island now," Link said, "but before I go, there are some things I want you to understand."

Ram looked a bit embarrassed, but he nodded carefully.

"First," Link said, "I know that you're an unnatural form of life. I just don't care. If you can't control yourself in battle, you shouldn't be fighting; ever."

When Link said that, Ram's entire face went red. He was looking humiliated, and yet, he must have known that Link was right. When he'd used his powers mere minutes before, he'd gotten lost in the battle and begun to enjoy himself. He shuddered visibly at that point, and a look of self-loathing started to spread over his face.

"Secondly," Link said, "I know you were instructed to fight us, and I appreciate that, but now you know my face. Don't ever try to fight me again."

Ram just looked at the stone floor in response to that, then muttered "no worries there."

"Alright." Link remarked, getting back up, and turning to face the captain, "I think we've done all we can here. Let's get back up to the surface and set sail."

"I don't understand." the captain objected, as they stepped out of the chamber, "We're just going to leave him there with the sage of water?"

"He won't attack Obo, if that's what you mean." Link replied much more casually than before, "And even if he ever did, I think the sage of water could handle it."

"Well, maybe." the captain muttered, "But I just don't trust the guy."

"In terms of his powers, I don't think we have anything to worry about." Link said at last, however, "I beat him once, and I can beat him again. Besides, the only real power he has is the power to trap people in rooms. If we met him out in the open, his power would be pretty useless, except to impress people at parties, maybe. He caught us by surprise that once, but he's really not a very powerful fighter; kind of a one-trick pony."

"Pony?" the captain asked, feeling confused, "What's a pony?"

Link's face went white when the captain asked that, though, and a very sad look came into his eyes as he replied, "It's a kind of animal we used to have in Hyrule. But... but I was just using a figure of speech. I meant that he hasn't got that many abilities to overcome opponents with. He's just got his one trick, you see."

The captain was starting to understand the phrase quickly, though, and soon, they were both back on the surface, and meeting with the other crewmembers, who all greeted Link and the captain with relieved smiles.

"I see you're still alive, captain." Harriet commented in a snide way, drawing a dirty look from him.

"Yes, he is." Link replied, looking much more amused by Harriet's remark than the captain had been, "Actually, he was kind of helpful just now."

For a moment, the captain could barely believe his ears, and he had to look Link in the face again to be sure. What was going on, he wondered? After all the times that the captain had been such a disappointment, was the Hero of Time really defending him?

However, just then, the captain heard, in a whisper so soft that he could barely make it out, the words of the Hero of Time.

"I appreciate your curiosity, and you showed a level of wisdom down there. Keep your mind open like you did with the water sage, and you'll deserve much greater praise than this."

Pretty soon, with all the others staring at him in shock, the captain stepped back on board his ship, and was in command again, but he felt like he was in control much sooner than that.

"So where would you like to go next?" Link asked him once everyone was back on board, and the longboats had been pulled up.

"I..." the captain muttered, and for the first time, he began to feel beyond the mere weight of his command, to the real responsibilities that it carried, and he started to think. For the first time, he began to really consider what he had to do. At last, though, he asked, "Which of those sage towns is the closest?"

Soon, Link had given him the directions, and in a moment, they were off, traveling to the southeast. The captain had been in command of that ship before, and he'd been on important missions before too, but at last, he'd begun to feel something that he'd never felt before in his life. He felt like he was on top of the world, feeling the weight of his own body, and his own responsibilities. In spreading the news of armageddon, they may have just saved their entire race, he thought, and part of that had been his doing. It was a big responsibility for a young man like him to shoulder, but in a sense, that was the very thing that made it all feel worthwhile.


	21. Pt3 Ch4 Ganon Tips His Hand

Chapter 4: Ganon Tips His Hand

* * *

It was a foggy day when the captain's ship approached the island where the village of fire was apparently located. The rain and fog had persisted almost constantly as they'd been traveling, but every so often, they'd take a half-hour to travel to the nearest island and check their maps, and that kept them from losing their way.

However, fog or no fog, the captain was in high spirits. It had taken them two days to reach that island, but they were that much closer to the end of their journey. As the longboat was being prepared to take them ashore, however, Link approached the captain and asked him a question.

"Why the village of fire?"

"You mean why did I choose to travel to the village of fire next?" the captain asked, "Well, you probably expect me to say that it was the closest, and that's true, but I'm also hoping they'll be able to tell us the location of the sages of time and forest, which I suspect you'll need the help of as well before all of this is over."

"Any other reasons?" Link asked.

"Yes." The captain replied with a smirk, "Because last time I checked, I'm still the captain around here."

Link took the jab with good humor, and was obviously pleased that the captain had begun to develop some good sense. Still, there was another reason for choosing to visit the village of fire next, but Link knew that it would probably have been too much to expect the captain to recognize it right away.

Soon, Link and the captain were ashore. Harriet and Trey were with them that time, leaving Rei-Nu and Thom to man the vessel. It was, after all, not going to be an archeological mission, and they needed to leave someone behind, who was strong enough to operate the pulleys that retrieved the longboats.

That island wasn't like anything they'd ever seen. It seemed to be about half a mile across, with a volcano in the center, but the strange part was that the island was divided into stripes, extending outward from the volcano's mouth. There were stripes made of hardened magma, stripes of recently-erupted lava, and smaller stripes, which seemed to be made of extremely rich soil, on which there grew a series of tightly-packed trees. The captain was amazed, because it was like no island anywhere else in the sea. He could only wonder how the scouts of the great council of Isle Prime had failed to report such an amazing sight.

Then again, another possibility occurred to him, however. Had the scouts discovered that island, he wondered, and simply never made it back? The captain shuddered at the thought for a moment.

"I shouldn't have to tell you this," Link muttered to Harriet, Trey and the captain as they stepped on shore, "but don't expect a warm welcome. These people have most likely been assaulted by Ganondorf recently, and even if they haven't, they probably won't be too welcoming to outsiders. In fact, they..."

Suddenly, Link's eyes darted back and forth, as though he'd noticed something in an instant, and he leapt into the air, spinning around in a circle to knock everyone around him to the ground. Moments later, several knives flew through the air over their heads and into the ocean. Fortunately, no one was hit, but if not for Link's quick reaction, they would probably all have been killed then and there.

Link was the first one to recover from that attack, and the captain was the second. Quickly, though, Link rushed to his feet, and said very sharply "Everyone stay down."

In moments, flashes of light appeared from nearby, and Link proceeded to grab several knives out of the air with his hands as they flew at him, then threw them back in exactly the directions they'd come from. For the most part, he hit only hardened stone, and the trunks of trees, but he did hear one satisfying grunt, and leapt forward in its direction to grab whoever had made it.

After having felt around for no more than a moment, Link's hands closed around something that felt like a neck, and pulled its owner from their hiding place. However, he was shocked at what he found at that point.

The person he had in his hands was a little boy; no more than thirteen. In fact, he was so surprised, that he failed to notice the attack from behind until he felt a knife enter his shoulder.

Swiftly, Link rolled over on the ground in just such a way that his shoulder-blades dislodged the knife safely into the dirt without him having to let go of his captive. Then he held the boy up in front of him, and in moments, he heard someone shout a strange word from nearby.

"Fourth!"

Just like that, there were more flashes of light, and Link had to let go of the boy to dodge the oncoming knives, but as he leapt back, there was a puff of smoke from behind him, and he felt strong arms grip him from the back.

The boy, however, was off and running. The captain stood up to try to detain him, but the young man just grabbed him by the wrist, and at once, a searing pain went through his whole arm. The captain kicked out at the boy with one boot, causing him to let go of his arm and leap back, but by that time, horrible burn-marks had begun to spread all over young sailor's arm. Clutching the burns in pain, the captain once again fell to the ground, and that time, the boy seemed to just disappear from sight.

Link, meanwhile, had been attempting to fight off the man who'd jumped him, and just when it seemed that he was making some headway, a second man appeared, and a third, and soon, he was fighting for his life against three opponents, who were each excellent fighters in their own way. As he had in past fights, Link studied their techniques carefully, though. They were all dressed in reddish-brown outfits, which allowed them to camouflage easily against the terrain behind them. The outfits were built skintight, so that they wouldn't make any noise when moving, and obviously, each was well trained. Link could sense that each fighter also understood some level of magic, including the boy. They struck out with their palms, their heels, and their knees and elbows when they could, and made good use of powerful kicks after deflecting Link's own attacks more than once. At last, however, after receiving a few bruises, Link began to understand their technique, and what made it work, and as one to the left of him struck out with a kick, Link brushed it away with the back of his fist, and spun around, faster than any of them seemed to have given him credit for, delivering a sharp kick with his right leg to that opponent. His enemy dashed backwards a short ways, to attempt to move away from the impact, and Link would have claimed victory then and there if not for the other two. They flew at him from behind with powerful kicks, forcing him to leap forward, and then spin around to examine them again. Their kicks had cracked the stone where he'd been standing mere moments before, and in less than a second, they both pointed their fingers at him in unison, and he leapt into the air again, as two blasts of flame shot outwards from their fingertips, melting about a foot of solid rock.

As Link sailed through the air, the one he'd kicked attempted to grab him, but he brushed aside his attacker's arms with both of his hands, and grabbed the man by his shirt. Then, before the fighter could deliver a retaliatory kick, Link threw him directly at his companions, hoping that one of them might be knocked out.

However, the three fighters worked very well as a team, and rather than be struck by their teammate, the two other fighters caught him in their arms as he flew through the air, and tossed him back upwards. He then performed a summersault, landing behind them.

Link whistled aloud when he saw the three fighters perform that maneuver. He'd never seen such perfect teamwork in any fight. For a moment, the fighters all heard his whistle, and tensed up, as though expecting him to be summoning reinforcements, but when reinforcements failed to appear, they once again focused back on Link alone.

"Why are you attacking us?" Link asked, though, as he stood before the three of them, "We're not here to hurt anyone."

No words passed between the three fighters, however. They simply looked into one another's eyes. Link noticed their glances, though, and the messages that those glances conveyed. The first fighter recognized Link's skill, and wanted to know more about him, the second was concerned that he might be working for the forces of evil, and the third doubted that he was even an ordinary person at all, but they all had a duty to perform, and in moments, they were encircling him again, each striking out in unison. However, as quickly as their attacks came, Link deflected one with his left hand, one with his right, and the last with his left knee, then leapt into the air, and kicked two of the fighters away from him. The remaining one struck out with his foot one more time, and again, Link brushed off the attack with the back of his wrist, and delivered a mighty kick to his enemy's hip. Soon, all three were on the ground, and Link spoke to them one more time.

"Don't make me do that again. Your technique is wonderful, but it can still be improved. I'll stop fighting if you will."

Swiftly, each of the three fighters struggled to their feet, Link watching them intently the whole time. However, as he watched, he spoke again, and that time, he wasn't speaking to them.

"I want you three to watch them carefully. This is the kind of teamwork we should be trying to achieve."

* * *

For the first time since his arm had been burned, the captain opened his eyes all the way in awe. Link was still trying to teach them, even as he fought for his own life. At that point, the captain looked down once more at the burns on his arm, and he was filled with a terrible shame. He was ashamed that he wasn't a better fighter; ashamed that he was immobilized by such a petty injury. In fact, the captain realized, if he just concentrated, and forced himself to ignore the pain, there was no way that a burn like that could stop him.

"Yeah," the captain thought to himself at last, however, "These wounds aren't so bad. They can't keep me down!"

So, in a flash, the captain was on his feet again, with his sword in one hand, ready to charge into battle again, and that was when the boy reappeared, and in an extremely skillful maneuver, grabbed the captain's arm again, striking it at the elbow. A maneuver like that would, previously, have disarmed the captain very quickly, but that time, he was determined not to lose, so his grip on his weapon only tightened, despite the pain. Then, with his other hand, he let fly at the boy with a punch. The boy dodged to one side as the captain struck out with blow after blow, each one a testament to his renewed spirit, but none of them were skillful enough to hit their intended target. At last, though, the captain shot out one leg, and although the boy dodged it, it left him open to another attack. At once, the captain took advantage, punching one more time, and he knew that the boy couldn't simply dodge that one.

At that moment, the boy let go of the captain's arm, and with his own arms, he brushed off the punch, then delivered a powerful kick to the captain's side, which sent him sprawling to the ground. Soon, the boy pointed one finger at the captain, and suddenly, his view was obscured by some powdery, airborne substance.

The boy seemed to have realized too late that the substance was explosive, as the jet of flame that shot from his fingertips ignited it while it was still in the air around him. Swiftly, he dove backwards, but was kicked from behind by Trey, just as the explosion detonated, charring him from the front. That boy was obviously the least powerful and skilled of those fighters, but his fighting techniques were still very impressive, and moments before, he'd been hunting them down like a wolf. Suddenly, having forced themselves to overcome their doubts and fears, Link's three companions were following his example, learning from their opponents, until they could overcome them. They'd begun learning to anticipate one another's moves, and react, not merely to fighting their enemies, but also to supplementing the attacks of their allies as well, and the result was that Trey soon had an unconscious boy in his hands.

The other three attackers, in turn, were occupied with Link. Link had known from the start that those three were much better fighters than the boy. He was probably a student or trainee of the others. Link didn't feel as though his own team would be any match for them yet, and they clearly didn't feel that way either, but it didn't matter any more. They'd felt the ferocious heat of battle against a more powerful opponent wash over them, and they'd emerged victorious. They'd plunged into what they'd seen as a hopeless cause, and returned from that plunge, with a change rushing through them. They'd all made the same decision that the captain had made moments before. They didn't know whether they could win or not, but they'd try their best, and they were determined to make an account of themselves to their enemies.

However, while that had been going on, the battle between Link and the three fighters had continued. They'd begun using more advanced techniques, creating auras of heat around their hands and feet when they struck out, but the same fighting technique was still every bit as effective against them, and although Link got a burn or two on his arms and legs, it wasn't anything too serious, so he continued to learn from their techniques and modify his own, and he continued to do better against them. At last, after fighting them for nearly two minutes, Link struck all three simultaneously, and leapt upward, landing on the stomach of one, then drew his sword.

The man wasn't unconscious; a testament to his incredible endurance, but Link knew that he didn't have much choice. Those three, after all, were dangerous, and had every intention of killing him and his team. As bad as it would be for his chances at diplomatic relations with those people, Link knew that he had to finish off at least one of them.

Suddenly, however, a knife struck the edge of Link's sword, as though attempting to knock it from his grip, and he only managed to keep hold of it by tilting the blade sideways in response. Looking in the direction that the knife had come from, though, Link saw yet another fighter, about the same height as the three he'd already been fighting, but that one had an aura of magic around him that was so strong, that Link could feel its power from several yards away. Swiftly, he got to his feet and faced the new fighter, though he didn't dare to ignore the three that he'd been fighting either. Obviously, that warrior was stronger and more skilled than the others; maybe even more than Link. The Hero of Time began to sweat at that point, partly from worry, and partly from the heat radiating from his new foe. Each of those four fighters obviously had incredible talent, and with all of his weapons and equipment, defeating them would have been difficult, but armed with only an ordinary sword, and trying simultaneously to protect three other people, Link knew that his chances weren't good.

Just then, however, the new fighter did something that none of the others had done; something that gave Link hope. She spoke to him, surprising Link a little bit, by the fact that she was clearly female. Her voice was definitely that of a woman, although her features and natural body shape were well-disguised by her outfit.

"You! Where did you learn to fight in the Teran Harabo style?"

"The what?" Link asked, causing her to lose her concentration for a moment, and when she continued, she sounded very aggravated.

"The style of martial arts you were just using!" she exclaimed angrily, "Only we warriors of the flame know how to use that technique."

By that point, however, Link understood what she meant.

"Okay." he finally replied, "That makes sense, then. I learned it from watching these three."

"That's impossible!" the woman exclaimed, "You used many high-level moves that second, third and fifth haven't mastered yet. Who taught them to you?"

Link was a bit confused by that remark at first, so he paused for a moment to think about it. After about three seconds of thought on the subject, however, he started to explain himself.

"The truth is, once I'd seen enough of their technique, I understood the methods it was based on, and I was kind of able to creatively augment the fighting style they'd shown me to make it more effective."

The woman's eyes; the only part of her that Link could see, widened in disbelief at that point. However, after a few more moments, she drew a short sword from behind her back.

"In all my time guarding this island, I've only encountered one person whose fighting skills could accomplish what you claim you just did. His name was Ganondorf Dragmire."

"Ganondorf?" Link asked firmly, very interested by that news, "How long ago was he here? Did anyone get hurt?"

However, instead of answering, the woman nodded her head sideways, signaling to her fellow warriors. When they saw that gesture, one of them immediately leapt a great distance to one side, and snatched the unconscious young boy from Trey's hands, then all three vanished in bursts of flame.

A moment later, the woman charged at Link, lashing out with her hands and sword. Link was dismayed to discover that her skill in the fighting style used by the other warriors was even greater than his own, but his sword darted back and forth with greater speed and accuracy than hers. After about half a minute of fighting, however, her entire body seemed to burst into flames, and Link began to glow blue in response; activating the spell of Nayru's Love. She fired off a blast of flame of at least three feet in diameter from her palms just then, but he walked right through it, the aura around him shrugging off the flames. Then, she dashed forward and slugged him right in the chest with her flaming fists, but again, it produced no effect. Next, she let loose with a series of powerful kicks, but Link deflected every one with his own legs, and grabbed her by the shoulders in both arms, too fast for her to react. After brushing off another punch, Link then used his left elbow to knock her off to the side, where her body melted much of the rock underneath where she'd landed. At that point, both of their auras faded away, and the two just stared at each other; neither one sure what to say.

"I didn't want to fight them," Link announced, referring to the three warriors he'd been fighting moments before, "and I don't want to fight you."

"Yes." the woman replied, getting to her feet slowly after a moment, "I can see that now."

"Would you explain why you attacked me just now, then?" Link asked, as he walked over to where she'd landed.

"I had to be sure you weren't Ganondorf in disguise," she explained, "but fighting styles are like fingerprints. Yours is much different from his. You're more... elegant; more careful almost. It's tough to explain. Who are you, anyway?"

Link sighed deeply when she asked him that, though. Trey and Harriet were still standing behind him, each clueless as to his true identity, but each had also fought with him against a common enemy mere moments before. He felt obligated to tell the truth, not merely because of that, but because there was no way that he could lie to that incredible fighter, no matter who else could overhear him.

"Alright." Link admitted, "I'll tell you. You won't believe me at first, and a couple of my allies don't even know this yet, but..."

The captain had heard enough, by that point, to recognize what Link was about to say, and prepared a shocked expression, to try to make it seem as though he was just as surprised as everyone else, when Link announced, "My name is Link, and I'm the Hero of Time."

The woman's eyes widened again, but only for a moment. Swiftly, she removed the hood she'd been using to conceal her face, and Link gasped in surprise at what he saw underneath. The woman's skin was thick and rough. No wonder, Link thought, he'd mistaken her for a man at first. She was probably at least part goron.

"You're right." the woman said firmly, "I don't believe you're the Hero of Time, but there's an easy way to find out for sure. The sage of fire can tell us."

"Can my allies come?" Link asked, glancing back at the three crewman who'd fought so well beside him, and who still seemed shocked by the revelation that he'd just unleashed, but the woman didn't look as if she really cared.

"We won't be going too far." The woman; most likely called First replied, "They can follow me as far as you can."

"One more thing." Link added, starting to frown, "Why do you call one another by numbers? Don't you have names?"

First looked him in the eye for a moment, as though searching for a motive to such a question, beyond simple friendliness, but finding none, she replied, "Yes, we have names, but we only use them inside the village of fire. In battle against outsiders, we use code numbers, so that they won't be able to track us down."

"That's very much like a shiekah method." Link observed suspiciously, causing her to look very surprised again.

"You know your history." First observed with a dispassionate nod, "Yes, our oldest records tell of the shiekah, and many of their methods were adopted by our people. I think you'll find that the sage of fire has always had great respect for them."

For a few moments, the woman walked along the hardened rock, until she finally came to a lava flow, and to Link's dismay, she began to walk along it almost effortlessly.

"Wait a minute!" Link exclaimed, stopping when the heat of the lava became too oppressive, "How do we get past this?"

"Outsiders can't enter the village of fire unless they've mastered our abilities and joined us." the woman replied casually from atop the lava, "I'll bring the sage of fire here instead."

It didn't make Link happy to be left waiting outside the village, but after all, that was more or less what had happened at the last island. However, a part of him also wished to learn to perform the same feats as those people. They'd been exiled from the mainstream society of that era, not for doing anything wrong, but because they had superior power and skill. At that point, though, all of those peoples faced extinction, and they'd need to work together to overcome it, if it was even possible. Link was, however, interested in the techniques of walking on water, walking on lava, and the fire attacks they'd used moments earlier. If only, he thought, he could master just a few of those, he'd be far better prepared to face the challenges that awaited him in the future.

Just then, though, another thought occurred to Link. What if the others could master a few of those techniques? Link doubted that the captain would be able to, at his level of development, but Harriet and the others had already shown a marked improvement in their teamwork skills. With a little time and some work, they could become a powerful team; not the First Force, perhaps, but considerable nonetheless.

Then again, the captain's powers and equipment were considerable in themselves. Maybe all he needed was to grow up enough to learn how to really use them, and how to work as part of a team.

* * *

As they waited for the woman to return, it was obvious that Link's allies were full of questions, but Harriet was too stunned by the enormity of what she'd just seen and heard to voice any. However, Trey's motives were more like worry, and for much different reasons. Menar, after all, really was the Hero of Time in disguise, and his skills were absolutely incredible. In addition, he'd somehow managed to gain the confidence of those fire warriors, or close to it. What did that mean for him and his goals? The Hero of Time was certainly gathering power, but what, Trey wondered, would he use that power for?

It wasn't long before the woman returned, stepping across the lava as though it were ordinary dirt, and there, following right behind her was what appeared to be a goron. Furthermore, Link could have sworn that he'd seen that goron before. He bore a more than passing resemblance to Darunia, but a little bit younger, and with a fierce determination in his eyes. When that goron saw Link standing in front of him, however, he gave a cry and leapt forward, to seize Hyrule's hero by the arms. In moments, Link was receiving a massive bear hug from the goron, which felt roughly like smashing his face against a rock. When the goron finally let him go, though, he stared directly into Link's eyes, and stepped back a few feet to speak aloud, in a voice that was both stern and joyous in different ways.

"Link," he remarked with a smile, "I suppose you don't remember me, but I'll always remember you. I haven't seen you since I was a little boy. How did you ever manage to stay so young?"

"The magic of time travel." Link replied, trying to sound calm, although really, he was very confused, "Sorry. I remember you from somewhere, but I can't quite... Hey, wait! Are you Link?"

The captain seemed absolutely flabbergasted by the nature of that question. After all, suddenly being faced with a goron named Link must have been a big surprise, and it seemed to indicate that the captain wasn't the only person who'd ever been named after the Hero of Time.

"That's right." the goron replied with a big, broad smile, "You remembered. Even when you didn't show up to save Hyrule, Link, I never got tired of that name."

"Speaking of which, how's Darunia these days?" Link asked the goron fire sage. However, as he said that, the goron started to look down at the ground with a truly sorrowful expression, and Link knew at once that Darunia was dead.

"He was killed less than a week ago." the fire sage replied sadly, still not looking into Link's eyes as he said it, "Ganondorf was responsible. That was when I was appointed the fire sage. It was a bittersweet ceremony. I loved my father very much."

Link gave his goron friend a gentle nod at that point. He'd been one of Darunia's closest friends too. The incident, however, felt somewhat less tragic for him; probably because he'd expected everyone he'd known to be dead already. After a few seconds spent in reverent silence, though, Link looked back into the fire sage's eyes, and started making suggestions. He told the fire sage about the plight faced by the hylians of the Great Sea, made several requests for special training for himself and his team, and in the end, made the same offer that he'd made to the water sage.

"The hylian people have been humbled by their insufficiency." Link explained patiently to the large goron, "They need your help again. Otherwise, we might all perish."

"My help?" the fire sage asked, sounding surprised at first, "My help?"

For a moment, Link was worried that the fire sage would refuse at once. After all, he'd been alive when the exile had taken place. The feelings of horror and disgust would almost certainly live in him. Strangely, though, the fire sage just smiled instead.

"If they need my help." the sage continued, "I'll gladly give it. I remember enough of what things were like in Hyrule to understand how not to be bitter with someone. Still, it might take some work to convince my people about this; especially considering that we still haven't defeated Ganondorf."

"That's alright." Link said, "Neither have I; at least not recently, but I'm helping them out."

The fire sage sighed heavily, however, and sat down on a nearby rock with a crash, which Link took to mean that he also should sit down, because the story that his goron friend was about to tell him wouldn't be a short one.

"About a week ago," the fire sage began, looking more miserable than before, "Ganondorf landed on our island. He proved himself stronger and more cunning than our mightiest warriors by slaying four of our guards, and immobilizing the last with horrible wounds. Since then, we've used our mightiest magic to try to restore her to health, and it seems that we've been largely successful."

As the fire sage said that, however, he looked over at the female fighter, who'd proved to be such a powerful opponent, even for Link, and the Hero of Time made the connection instantly. That, he realized, was why she'd said that she'd fought Ganondorf before.

"Having beaten our guards, he stormed into our village and slew my father. I led a team of our best warriors against him then and there, and two more were killed, but at last, he seemed to realize that even he was outmatched. At the next available opportunity, he ducked behind a rock, and we haven't seen him since, or rather, we don't think we have."

"The power of illusion." Link observed at once, his gaze hardening, "You think Ganondorf has mastered it."

"He's proven his talent with illusions before," the fire sage replied, "and it's the most likely explanation for his sudden disappearance. He could be disguised as anyone."

Link nodded in dismay, however. He could see the problem. At any moment, one of their own could cast aside a disguise, revealing that they were Ganondorf, and slay many more warriors with his terrifying power.

"How many more have died since then?" Link asked.

"None, thank Din." the goron replied, "Some of our people think he may have left when he realized our strength, but I don't think so, or if he did, he'll return, probably in a disguise next time, for some unknown purpose."

"That's why you had warriors out here, trying to kill us?" Link guessed.

"It's the biggest reason," the fire sage replied, "but even before Ganondorf's appearance, we had to be on our guard. As far as we knew, everyone else in the world wanted us dead."

Link closed both eyes tightly at that point, partly in contemplation of those new facts, but also partly because it was disheartening to hear about such horrors occurring to people who he himself had known so closely. At last, though, he spoke again.

"It ends here." he said at last, "We have to stand together against these common foes. You know as well as I do that Ganondorf isn't alone. He has an army of monsters at his disposal, and they're not just going to sit the war out after you've wounded his pride by overcoming him like that. I think you're right to worry. You'll definitely be the first people he tries to destroy."

The fire sage nodded, however, as he got back to his feet, though he clearly didn't feel any better.

"For the time being," the goron sage said, "I'm making you an honorary fire warrior. If you need training, just ask this young lady. She can teach you what you need to know. Meanwhile, I'll be trying to convince my people to go along with your plan, but I don't suspect much will be accomplished until we find out what happened to the king of evil."

As the fire sage returned across the lava, however, presumably to his village, Link turned to the woman who'd fought him a few minutes before, and spoke to her with much greater kindness in his eyes.

"Thank you." Link remarked gently.

"What for?" she asked, "All I did was attack you."

"You're responsible for most of the measures to appoint and protect the new sage of fire." Link noted, still smiling in a friendly way, "No one had to say it aloud. I could tell."

The young woman still didn't smile in reply, but she did make a respectful bow for a moment, before Link's expression turned stern and serious again.

"From this moment on, though" Link instructed her, "no more killing outsiders. I can appreciate that it may have been the only way to keep your people safe in the past, but things are changing now. If Ganondorf reappears, we can deal with that together, but our resources are small enough that we don't need to slay people who aren't our enemies."

"Link," the young woman replied, with a somewhat irritated expression growing on her face, "up to this very moment, everyone who wasn't a sage or training to be one was our enemy. That way of life is even worse than open war, but it's the only world I know. Do you honestly think you have the power to change the world that much?"

"No," Link admitted, his expression not changing, however, "but we do; all of us, together. We can put an end to the feuds and start along the path of peace, to create a place where people don't have to kill one another."

For the first time since she'd shown her face, there was a glimmer in the woman's eye, but it quickly faded to black again. Clearly, she didn't really believe that it was possible for all people to gather under one banner; even one as pivotal as survival, and it nearly broke Link's heart to see that anyone, anywhere, could have suffered so deeply, that they were prone to that kind of cynicism.

"Let me know when you're ready to begin the training." the woman finally said, "I'll be in the woods to the south."

Then, in a great leap, she'd vanished, and Link was left alone with his three team members, each of whom clearly had questions to ask. The first to speak, though, was Trey.

"It's true then? You're really the Hero of Time? Well, now I can see why things seem to work out when you're around. It's about time we all had some good luck."

"I'm not the only person in the world who has a little good luck." Link replied, however, shaking his head, "Almost anybody could try their hardest, and accomplish what I've done."

Harriet, however, seemed to disagree with that statement, saying, "Lots of people tried their hardest, but they didn't have your magic, knowledge or guidance. We needed you more than anything in the world, to give us something to believe in. You were a real hero, and you still are. But why didn't you tell us from the beginning?"

"And why are you telling us now?" the captain asked, more curious about that point than the others.

Link took a deep breath, because obviously, explaining his reasoning was going to be something of a challenge, since he wasn't completely sure of it himself.

"Speaking with that woman," Link said, referring to the fighter who'd just left, "I was reminded of something that I'd forgotten before. The three of you have been putting your lives on the line with me. We've faced almost certain doom together, and we might do it again. To withhold the truth from someone you need to be able to trust with your life is really uncomfortable for all of us, and the moment I realized that I couldn't lie to that woman, I realized that I couldn't keep lying to you either."

"How did you get here?" Harriet asked, however, quickly moving on to her next eager question, "We thought for sure you were dead."

"I found myself here through an accident involving time travel." Link replied, "Many people were involved in that accident, including Ganondorf."

Within a few minutes, therefore, most of the story came out. Fortunately, Link was able to avoid revealing the captain's involvement in the incident, though he did mention that the captain had been on the island when the accident had occurred, and had helped him to reach Isle Prime.

"It's just so amazing." Harriet remarked in open awe, "I never thought these sorts of things were possible. I mean, life is always so predictable in the Great Sea. Nothing incredible ever happens, and then all of a sudden, the Hero of Time comes along, and I start feeling like a hero myself..."

However, Harriet stopped speaking the moment that she'd said that, because the feeling she'd been experiencing since working with the others on Headstone Island... The feeling that she hadn't been able to assign a name to... She'd just realized that she'd described it almost perfectly with those words.

"I started feeling like a hero myself."

Harriet had paused at that point, and had clearly started to ponder those words more carefully. In fact, it seemed as if, at that moment, she was beginning to think hard about what it meant to be a hero, and that, Link knew, would only do her good in the future.

Soon, though, Link had started smiling again, and spoke to his friends, saying, "I'm going to start training with that young woman, to learn the technique she used to walk on lava. I recommend that the rest of you try to do the same. I think we'll be here for a few days, so if you can master it quickly, you might have the opportunity to learn some other techniques as well. In particular, I suggest you study their teamwork and fighting style. Those are things that might help you in the future, but there's one more thing I want you to remember, no matter what. Ganondorf is more powerful than they are, as individuals. None of you can beat him alone, even if you become as strong as her. You'll always need one another to claim victory over a foe like him, and he's still not the most dangerous foe we're facing."

With those words, Link spun around and headed for the southern woods of the island, and as he ran, he felt almost as though a terrific weight had just been lifted from his shoulders for the first time during their journey.

* * *

The training that First originally proposed for Link and his crew involved walking along a metal board in bare feet, with a fire under it. She gave them several pointers on how to dust off their rusty magic powers at first, and use them to protect themselves from the heat. In general, the captain found that very hard to do, and burned his feet many times. Once they'd accomplished that, however, they could use that same technique to create a pair of small barrier walls, which would both act to protect their bodies from the heat, and to generate a sort of friction-wall underneath them, whenever they touched anything even partially solid or liquid; preventing them from sinking in the lava. Link mastered the first technique in six hours, and the second half of the technique within a day, and at once, he understood the concept behind walking on water as well, although he knew it would take him some time before he could do that as well as the water sage.

Trey picked up both concepts fairly quickly too; about a day after Link did, in fact. Harriet wasn't far behind him either, after having seen it done by more than one person before her.

The captain, on the other hand, was still struggling to get through stage one of the training after two and a half days, and hadn't asked any of the others for pointers. Link was pretty disappointed by that. After all that time, the captain was still only concerned with impressing him, and hadn't even discovered how to learn lessons. As soon as Link saw that, he could tell that that young captain had never been meant for leadership. His natural predisposition was towards foolishness, and he seemed to have such a difficult time learning even the simplest of life lessons, that Link began to wonder how he'd survived as long as he had.

"Still," Link thought to himself, "I'm stuck with him, and for my sake as well as his, I have to make something out of him."

That was the reasoning that Link used to convince himself about what he was doing, and on the dawn of the third day, he walked out to the training grounds, where the captain was clutching his burned feet; the result of his last training attempt, and tossed the young sailor a healing potion that he'd gotten from the fire village the day before. Then, however, as Link turned to leave, he heard the very shout of desperation that he'd been hoping to hear.

"Wait, Link!"

Slowly, Link turned around to look at the captain again. He was still sitting on the rough stone, with the potion in one hand, but suddenly, the captain was staring into Link's eyes, with an expression on his face, like a lost child.

"I..." the captain stuttered from his sitting position for a moment, "I always thought that somehow, I was really a hero. I always thought in the back of my mind that the King of Red Lions was right, and that I was a person who could be a hero to my people, but... But I can't be a hero, because I need your help."

Link smiled, however, when he heard the captain say that. In truth, he hadn't expected the captain to manage that feat; the feat of asking another person for help with something, but since he had, it was something that he could work with.

In a moment, Link was sitting beside the captain, and nodded towards the bottle, encouraging him to drink the potion. The captain began to drink in a moment, and the healing process in his feet started up. It was only then that Link bothered trying to speak to the young man again.

"All heroes need the help of others." Link explained slowly, "That's the point of being a hero; to inspire others to solve their problems. I don't think any true hero ever quite feels like that's what they are, though. Being a hero isn't like being a king. It's not your job to handle everything. All you have to do is be part of the solution, and always remember that most of your power will come from your friends, your allies and your people. In my eyes, you're much more of a hero now than you've ever been, because you were willing to ask for my help when you knew you weren't up to the job."

Then, Link stood up, and the captain pocketed the empty potion bottle, as his feet finished healing.

"Let's try again," Link continued, "but first, I want you to think about magic. In your body, there's a powerful energy source called magic, and it'll do what you tell it to. That source is one of our greatest powers as individual hylians. Try to sense its presence."

The captain didn't look convinced by what Link was saying at first, but he closed both eyes and tried, though he still clearly had a hard time with it.

"You've used magic before," Link reminded him, "when you summoned up the spell of enchanted armor. Just remember how it felt when you did that. Try to find where that armor came from, and you'll find your magic."

With a new sense of direction, therefore, the captain tried again, and he got much closer that time. At last, after two more tries, he finally discovered something, though.

"It's like a blob or cloud." the captain observed aloud, still keeping his eyes closed, "I mean, I see something that looks like that, but it's not really clear, like it isn't really anything, but it definitely is something."

"That's what magic is in its natural state." Link explained, already smiling at his new pupil, "Without being made into a physical form, magic is nothing but raw material, but it's a very flexible material, like clay. You can use it to make fire, to protect yourself, to form tricks and illusions, and for a hundred other things."

That was how the captain learned about the magic that existed within him, and within all hylians, and using the same methods, he learned to focus it, by uniting the intentions of his body and soul. In the end, bit by bit, Link guided him through the first and second phases of the process in under a day.

* * *

At last, however, the time came to leave the isle of the fire village, and even the captain had mastered lava-walking, and had visited the fire village himself once or twice. However, as the crew of the Seeker was gathering up their belongings, and stepping into the longboats, Trey began to look worried again, and told them that there was one more thing that he had to do. Then, he ran back in the direction of the fire village, using his magic to walk along the lava, just as they'd all learned to.

The captain and Harriet continued to talk about what they'd learned and how much they'd discovered as they waited in the longboat for Trey to return, but Link got out of the boat with a stern expression on his face, apparently seeing some threat that the others had missed.

"It's time." Link muttered under his breath, then turning to face the other two members of his team, he said, "I want both of you to get back on board the boat and set sail. Keep going until you're ten miles from this island; I don't care which direction. If this volcano hasn't erupted by that point, you can come back and get me."

Then, with a firm look in his eyes, Link rushed towards the fire village, not pausing for even a moment, as he continued to dash across the lava.

The captain didn't understand, but he knew enough not to disobey Link's orders by that point. At once, he began rowing, and in a few minutes, he and Harriet were back on the Seeker, and had hoisted up the anchor, preparing to follow Link's odd instructions.

* * *

The heat boiled up from the lava under Trey's boots, but as usual, it couldn't reach him, as he walked along the magma flow into the very heart of the live volcano. Along the volcano's inner edge, a few meters off, he could see a cave entrance, and there, he knew, was Fire Village; a place designed by fire sages of the past with a magic barrier surrounding it, so that it grew stronger when exposed to heat. Every building, every road, and every inch of rock was designed to never be melted, and if the volcano ever erupted, the barrier would keep out the lava. As Trey stepped through the entryway to Fire Village, he examined its layout, and not for the first time. That entire town was underground, so there was more space to build than on the typical, tiny island. The center of town contained the sage's house, a small watchtower from which one could see the entire village, and a gathering place for town meetings, as well as several training areas for young fire warriors. To the left of the village were a collection of stone houses with watchtowers around them. The same thing was on the right side of the village, and on its far side. Beyond those three boundaries were the cave walls, ceiling and floor, and there were places where the rock had been melted and cooled again, to provide smooth roads. Trey was amazed that people could live like that; in such a barren, inhospitable environment, which offered them no beautiful plains or kind sunshine.

"They live a lot like I once did." he thought to himself silently, "If only there were a life worth grasping in this world, I think many of them would have taken the same path I did."

After contemplating that for a moment, however, he marched grimly to the center of the village, and started scattering a powdery substance all over the ground.

"But," he thought to himself, "they had incredible power, and failed to prevent the tragedy that I suffered. For that, among other things, they all have to die."

So, Trey continued to scatter the powder along the roads, in front of the doorways of the houses, and across the center of town as inconspicuously as possible, but just as he raised one hand, to cast a spell over it, he heard the voice of the first man who'd ever defeated him in battle, screaming out a command.

"Stop it, Ganondorf!"

* * *

At once, he looked up, his hand still poised to cast his spell, but by that point, his disguise had faded. Where once there'd stood the figure of a hardworking carpenter, the image of Ganondorf had appeared instead, his long, black robes whipping around him in the turbulent volcanic winds.

"You're too late, Hero of Time!" Ganondorf exclaimed, "As you must have suspected, Trey has been dead since the first day you landed on this island, and with one more gesture, I'll cover this whole land in an army of darkness, consuming it whole."

"Why are you doing this, Ganondorf?" Link asked patiently, as though he had all the time in the world, "I never pegged you for a nihlist."

For a moment, a look of great sadness flowed into Ganondorf's eyes, however, like a river through a harsh desert, but he shook it off and replied with anger, and nothing else.

"My hopes and dreams are gone forever. I won't let anyone else fare better; not now or ever. Destroying their hope is all I have left. It's the reason I was brought back."

"You're being foolish." Link replied, "Hope can never die; not even for you. I don't know what you were hoping for, but I know you allowed yourself to give up hope too quickly. Seize your hope again, and come with me. Don't make war on these people anymore. You can help me to correct the mistakes of the past."

"The mistakes of the past can't be corrected anymore!" Ganondorf exclaimed, "The Triforce is gone, the time guard is destroyed, and this war is the only purpose I have left in my life!"

Then, before Link could stop him, Ganondorf twisted his hand around in mid-air with a vicious snarl, and a dark force began to emerge from the ground at his feet. As Ganondorf vanished in a burst of fire, however, Link heard the words of the king of evil drift into his ears on the wind, "Now, Hero of Time, since you obviously care so much about the village of fire, you can go ahead and perish with it."

As fast as he could, Link spun around to examine his predicament. From virtually every section of the ground nearby, monstrous, black shapes were emerging. Quickly, Link shouted aloud, to whoever could hear him in the nearby vicinity.

"Everyone!" Link exclaimed in desperation to all the nearby people of the fire village, "Protect yourselves from fire!"

Then, Link shoved both hands against the ground, and a dome of flames erupted from his body, sweeping the black shapes into the cave walls and the magma, and starting a chain reaction within the volcano itself. The huge mountain of lava erupted in a shower of volcanic ash, as the fire sage rushed up to Link, looking absolutely terrified by what was happening around him.

"Link!" the goron sage exclaimed, "What's going on?"

"Ganondorf has put a death curse of some kind on this village." Link explained briefly, "This entire island is going to be consumed; probably in a very short time. We have to leave at once if we're going to escape the curse, but my boat's left already."

"Then you'll come with me." the fire sage exclaimed, taking charge at once.

Immediately, the fire sage rushed to the center of town, with Link close behind, and seized a large horn from nearby, putting in to his mouth. Then, he bellowed loudly into it, so that his words carried across the whole village.

"Omega eventuality! Execute the final plan!"

Then, grabbing Link in one arm, the fire sage clapped both hands together, and a mighty wall of flame rose up around the two of them, and around the other fire warriors in the village, just as the cavern ceiling began to come down on top of them.

* * *

The eruption of the volcano was seen spectacularly by everyone on board the captain's ship, but for them, it carried with it the worst possible tidings. The time had come to leave, and a third of their crew was gone. They didn't even know if the fire warriors had managed to escape with their sage, but they knew that the Hero of Time was missing.

Then, suddenly, something else began to happen to the volcanic island, which was clearly even worse. A stream of blackness seemed to spread out from its center, then another and another. Suddenly, a wave of dark shapes emerged from the mouth of the volcano, and springing into action, the captain barked orders to everyone, including Rei-Nu, since they were short of able hands, to man a station and get the sails up. They obviously had to get away from that island as quickly as they could.

In less than sixty seconds, the sails were up, and the blackness had covered the island completely, and spread out from it into the ocean. The continual motions and raw power of the dark shapes had twisted the winds to blow away from the island somehow, so sailing away from it shouldn't have been a problem, except for one thing. As the darkness spilled into the water, the waves began to drain away into it, creating a strong current back towards the island.

The captain was all over the ship at once, leaping from one deck to the next, barking orders to strengthen the ropes holding up the sail, and breaking away two parts of the ship's side-rails, to attempt to use them as oars with his ponderous strength, because as mighty as the wind was, the currents were stronger, and they were being drawn back towards the island slowly, as the horrible darkness grew larger and larger. Down to the very last second, the captain continued to row with his makeshift oars, and yell orders over the noise of the winds around him, until their deafening sounds finally drowned his voice out completely.

* * *

When the captain finally woke up again, he immediately sat up and looked around, drenched in a cold sweat. He could see that he was plainly still on the deck of his ship, and Harriet and Thom were lying nearby. Rei-Nu was probably still on the upper deck, but the captain's first priority was to wake them all up. Quickly, he hurried to Thom, then Harriet, and roused them both from their sleep, then instructed Thom to go looking for Rei-Nu, and wake him up too.

After a few moments, Harriet looked at the captain with curiosity, and was amazed to see a look of determination in his eyes, which she'd rarely seen there before. Maybe it was something about the absence of the Hero of Time, but ever since she'd first seen the captain and Link together, it had always seemed like the captain was something of a sidekick; someone who only cared about making the hero happy. However, with the Hero of Time gone, the captain seemed almost to be performing better; like someone who'd found his destined path in life after having lost it for a while. It was only after she'd contemplated those things that she realized that the island of the fire village was gone.

"Where did the volcanic island go?" Harriet asked the captain in horror, but before he could answer, Thom and Rei-Nu had returned. Rei-Nu had a scratch on his head, from having fallen on one of the ship's detached side rails, but otherwise, he seemed to be just fine.

"I don't know," the captain admitted, "I don't know where it went, but for whatever reason, it's gone now. I guess it was consumed by that horrible darkness, whatever it was. I don't know where the darkness went, or where it cam from either, though. I'm sure there are ways to find out, in time, but that's not our real mission."

After a moment of stunned disbelief, however, the crew of the Seeker all looked at their captain in awe. He sounded almost as if he were learning real authority for the first time.

"For now, we have to continue searching for allies to help us in our mission to save our people from Ganon, and from starvation." the captain continued firmly, "That means getting this ship to the island of the shadow village as soon as we can, but if we're going to get underway, we're going to need to give it our all. That means that everyone needs to perform some function on my ship from now on. Harriet, you should help Thom with the riggings. Rei-Nu, I want you in the crow's nest, to look out for any more of that black stuff."

"What about the Hero of Time?" Harriet asked, causing both Rei-Nu and Thom to look at her in surprise. Neither one of them had heard the news yet, but the captain would undoubtedly explain it to them once they got underway.

"The Hero of Time might still be alive, or he might not still be alive." the captain replied with a look of grim determination on his face, though he seemed to be hiding most of his real feelings, "But we can't afford to waste time waiting for him to return to us. Our people made that mistake once, and it cost them a continent. This time, we have to take matters into our own hands, and take action against evil by ourselves, instead of waiting for a hero to save us."

For a few moments, the small crew was surprised by that response, and Harriet felt more than a little disappointed by it, but they all knew just how right the captain was about that. The time had come to save their people, and they'd need all the help they could get.

Soon, they all took their positions across the ship, setting up the sail and examining the horizon as the captain checked his maps of the area, where the locations of the other villages had been marked. He knew there was still much more that he needed to learn, and it was the first time he'd set out on an adventure, not feeling as though he could take on the world, but for some reason, that helped to put it in perspective for him. Suddenly, he thought, he could be a hero, because he needed help.


	22. Pt3 Ch5 The Great Shadow

Chapter 5: The Great Shadow

* * *

After less than a day at sea, Rei-Nu sighted land on the horizon from his position in the crow's nest, and there was one of the oddest islands that the captain had ever seen. It was a mound of dirt with no trees, no grass, and seemingly no life at all, in fact, but at the very top of the island was a plane, completely flat, and about the size of a small town. The captain knew, of course, that none of the villages of the sages had been discovered by the people of the Great Sea, but he'd hoped to be able to discover them for himself. On that island, however, there seemed to be nothing to discover. Still, he decided to disembark with Harriet and have a look around.

As soon as the captain was ashore, he ascended to the very top of the hill. He didn't know what he expected to find there; maybe an invisible building, or a monument, or a structure of some kind, but there was nothing; just bare dirt and air. With Harriet standing behind him on the hilltop, the captain bent down to examine the soil. It was a bit dry, but generally lifeless, a realization that caused him to feel extremely disappointed. If only, he thought, that place could have at least been used to farm, the trip wouldn't have been a total waste.

The captain was just about to give up the search, and was getting back to his feet, already rifling through excuses that he could give to Harriet for leaving that island, however, when suddenly, for a moment, he saw something so shocking, that it caused him to fall back into the dirt in alarm. Right there, seemingly hanging in mid-air, there was what looked like a piece of a wall, just dangling in place, and not connected to anything. It was fuzzy, and it didn't seem to have any distinct base or top, but Link gasped in alarm when he saw it.

As soon as she noticed Link's shock, Harriet rushed over to him, and the wall piece disappeared in a flash, but he was sure that he'd seen it. He knew that it hadn't just been some kind of delusion or dream.

"Did... Did you see it?" the captain asked Harriet curiously, hoping to get verification on what he'd just discovered.

"See what?" Harriet asked, though, just looking confused, "This whole place looks pretty dead to me. The so-called shadow village has probably moved on to some other island."

The captain sighed again, however, when Harriet said that, because her words had confirmed his fears. Unfortunately, she hadn't seen the floating wall piece. He was the only one who'd noticed that strange vision. Still, there wouldn't be much point in trying to convince her of what he'd seen, the captain decided, until he had some kind of evidence.

Slowly, the captain got to his feet and looked at Harriet sadly. He could tell that she was concerned about him, and she also seemed pretty confused about his behavior, but although she'd given him those kinds of looks before, that was the first time that he really understood them; the first time he discovered that he could read the look in her eyes like a book. It was, in some ways, unsettling to suddenly find himself with that strange ability, but the captain knew that the Hero of Time had possessed it. Maybe, he thought, it was just a sign that his experiences were making him a better man. Maybe it meant that he himself was growing to become more than he had been as a child, though admittedly, he still didn't feel like a hero; especially after what had happened to the Hero of Time.

"I thought I saw something for a second." the captain remarked, though more to avoid worrying Harriet than for any other reason, "It might be nothing, though. For now, let's go back to the Seeker, but I don't think we should try to leave the island just yet. I want to think about this for a while. There may be more to this than we're seeing."

* * *

The afternoon passed, and evening approached, and before long, the captain sat in his cabin, thinking over the mystery of that afternoon's discoveries, or rather, what they hadn't discovered. No matter how much he tried to convince himself that the floating wall had just been some kind of mirage, the captain couldn't shake the feeling that it had to be a puzzle of some kind; a puzzle that the Hero of Time would already have solved. The answer, he reasoned silently, had to be on that island somewhere.

At last, however, Rei-Nu stepped into the captain's cabin and closed the door behind him, startling him a little bit, and jolting him out of his worries temporarily.

"What is it?" the captain asked the scholar, more on impulse than because he actually wanted to know. However, when he turned to look at Rei-Nu, the captain could see that the scholar had also been deep in thought, trying to think things through, and like him, he was understandably having a hard time.

"You're still trying to figure out why there's no village out there?" Rei-Nu asked, his short, grey hair and beard quivering as he spoke.

"I know there's some kind of puzzle here." the captain replied quickly, however, "It's just that no matter how hard I try to think about it, I just can't seem to figure it out."

"Maybe you're just having a hard time paying attention to the puzzle." Rei-Nu replied, however, drawing the captain's gaze again, as he tried to figure out what the older man was saying.

"We've just lost two friends." Rei-Nu continued, once he'd gotten the attention of the captain, "We don't have any idea what happened to either of them. For all we know, both of them are dead..."

"Link wouldn't die like that." the captain replied firmly, but Rei-Nu just repeated himself.

"For all we know, both of them are dead, and it happened while you were in command. I refuse to believe that nothing about that is making you feel the least bit distracted. I know it's been distracting me, and I'm not even in command."

"We're two different people." the captain just replied in irritation.

"You're still a decent guy," Rei-Nu insisted, "and I can't picture you just shrugging off the death of an innocent person like it doesn't mean a thing. I mean, you haven't done any mourning for either of them, and as far as I can tell, you haven't even acted sad about what happened, so..."

However, at that point, Rei-Nu seemed to notice just how angry he was making the captain, because he started to trail off as the captain glared at him from across the cabin. Finally, the young sailor did explain himself, but in a very aggravated tone of voice.

"Rei-Nu, if you don't think I've acted sad, then you don't know me at all. For me, sad is something a lot different than it is for most people. Do you want to know what sad is for me? Sad is having your kid sister kidnapped by a flying monstrosity on the morning of your twelfth birthday. Sad is realizing that your only adult relative almost worried herself to an early grave because of you. Sad is knowing exactly where the people you care about are, but not being able to do anything to help them. Sad is being betrayed by someone you thought was trying to help you, so that he could accomplish his own, self-righteous ends. Sad is knowing that you had the chance to save your people from starvation; the worst kind of suffering there is, and that you blew it because you were too naive or inexperienced. Worst of all, though, sadness is having all those things happen to you when you're too young to defend yourself from them, but just old enough to remember them vividly for the rest of your natural life. Don't tell me I haven't been sad, Rei-Nu. I've been sad every day for the last eight years."

For a few moments, it almost seemed as if Rei-Nu wasn't sure what to say or do next, but at last, he looked at the floor, and the captain looked away too. That gave each of them the chance to re-think their next few words to one another.

"Maybe you're right." Rei-Nu conceded finally, "Maybe we should focus on this puzzle for now, but if you ever do save the people of the Great Sea, you'll deserve the chance to be happy."

The captain just nodded silently, however, and again, Rei-Nu couldn't be sure how to interpret that, so he just dropped the subject, not sure whether it was for the best or not, and moved back onto the topic of the strange, barren island that they'd just arrived at. It hardly seemed like the right kind of thing to talk about, but at least it was a safer subject.

"Actually, there might be one other reason why you're having a hard time solving this puzzle." Rei-Nu suggested, "Maybe you just haven't found all the pieces yet."

"Pieces?" the captain asked, starting to look confused, "What do you mean?"

"Well, when I was young," Rei-Nu explained patiently, "not too many kids went to school willingly, but I was one of them, just because I wanted to learn. I was usually disappointed, though. Most of the things taught in our schools were too basic to be any use. Still, I learned a few good things there; some methods of logic, like how to assemble a jigsaw puzzle. Have you ever assembled one of those?"

However, the captain just shook his head, his anger already fading, and looking pretty interested in what Rei-Nu was saying.

"Well, it's made of thick wood." Rei-Nu replied, "It forms a picture when you've assembled it, but you have to get all of the pieces in the right place, and you have to make sure there aren't any pieces missing, so the first thing I always did was count the pieces up to make sure I had them all."

For a moment, the captain seemed to be trying to picture it in his mind, but at last, he nodded again, clearly impressed by the idea.

"So solving puzzles like that teaches you how to solve real puzzles." the captain noted.

"Well, it did for me." Rei-Nu replied with a shrug, "Maybe if you're having a tough time solving puzzles in your life, you might just need to find the rest of the pieces to them. That's just one possibility, though."

* * *

For a moment, the captain pondered over what Rei-Nu had just said, trying to get as much out of his crewman's advice as he could. The truth was, though, that it sort of reminded him of the kind of advice that Link might have given him in the same situation; advice about working as a team, benefiting from one another's expertise, and so on. Because of that, just as Rei-Nu was turning to leave, the captain remarked, "Wait."

Quickly, Rei-Nu stopped where he was, and turned to face the captain obediently, but much to his surprise, the captain had a smile on his face at last; a genuine smile that had apparently been rare during the past eight years.

"Have a seat." he said, so Rei-Nu did, sitting down on the only chair in the captain's cabin, and looking back at him with a smile. Obviously, both of them were starting to feel much better.

"You're right." the captain said after just a few seconds, however, "I haven't been thinking straight; not for a single moment over the course of my life. I really owe you for your advice. I'd also like you to help me figure out this puzzle, if you have time."

Rei-Nu was clearly pleased by that request, because he was already grinning as he closed his eyes to think about the problem. The captain followed his example carefully.

"Now," the captain said with his eyes still closed, "Let's go over what we know so far. Here on this island, there seems to be nothing alive; not even grass. But according to the sage of water, this island is the location of the village of shadow. However, the village of shadow was never discovered by my people, so that probably means it's here in some form, but impossible for my people to detect; at least through normal means."

"Yes." Rei-Nu replied, "That all makes sense."

"And if it can't be detected through normal means," the captain continued, "that must mean there's some abnormal means that can be used to detect it. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to find one another."

"Alright." Rei-Nu agreed with another solemn nod of his head, "That also makes perfect sense. It seems to me our task is just to find that abnormal means of detecting them. Do you have any clues as to what that might be?"

"Just one." the captain replied, though he couldn't stop a frown from spreading across his face as he spoke, "When I scouted the island, for a moment, I thought I could see a piece of a wall, but then it was gone."

"When you saw that," Rei-Nu asked, "where were you, and what were you doing?"

"Well, I was crouching down to look at the soil, with Harriet standing behind me, and I remember it seemed a little darker, because..."

However, just then, the captain paused, and suddenly, his eyes opened all the way in surprise and delight, because he'd discovered the answer to the puzzle. He knew where the village of shadow was located, and how to find it.

"I've got it!" the captain exclaimed eagerly, rushing for the door that led to the deck of the ship, "I know what we have to do!"

* * *

The remaining hours of daylight were spent in taking apart the desk in the captain's cabin and carefully putting it back together as a series of large, wooden boards, connected to one another, so that they formed a single, wooden surface of over a dozen feet long, both horizontally and vertically. The task would have been much easier with Trey's help, but fortunately, the four of them were able to pool their knowledge of wood and do a fairly patchwork, if effective job of it.

As the sun dipped downwards into nighttime, the captain looked anxiously at the island, but just as he'd expected, nothing appeared on the island's surface.

"No." the captain thought to himself, "That would have been too easy anyway. Of course the dark of night won't perform the same function. After all, this is an enchantment I'm dealing with. Finding its weak point naturally won't be as easy as just waiting for nightfall."

However, the very moment that the sun peeked over the horizon on the morning, reflecting in a glimmer off his eyes, the captain was on his feet, encouraging everyone to rise and help him with his plan. With the help of the longboat, and of the other three crewmen, the massive wooden board was taken to the island, where the captain dug a small trench in the dirt, and planted the board so that it cast a long shadow from light of the rising sun.

"Now for the solution." the captain said, as he stepped into the shadow of the board, and there, before him, stretching as far as the board's shadow did, he saw an incredible sight.

It was an entire village made of stone, marble, and some substances that the captain had never even seen before! For a moment, he gasped in awe, and nearly fell back to the ground again. The place was magnificent; more amazing than any town or village he'd ever seen before, in fact. If not for an air of gloom that hung over the town, he would almost have thought that it had been built to house royalty.

"That's it!" the captain exclaimed, getting to his feet quickly, and rushing out from behind the shadow of the board, causing the amazing city to vanish in an instant. Quickly, he took the longboat back to the ship, but instead of boarding the vessel, he asked Harriet and Rei-Nu to join him on the island with a look on his face as though he'd found a million rupees.

Within five minutes, all three were ashore, and had seen the same vision that the captain had; the town that lived in the shadows. He was so pleased with himself for having solved the mystery, that he couldn't stop smiling.

"I figured it out because of what happened when we were over here together, Harriet." he tried to explain, "I saw a part of a wall when I was crouching down, and you were behind me, and it wasn't until later that I realized it was because your shadow was over me, and over what I wanted to see, so all I had to do was set up a large enough object to cast enough of a shadow to reveal entire buildings, and this is the result."

"It's amazing." Harriet muttered, "Just... just amazing."

Rei-Nu simply smiled. He seemed to have suspected something similar, but he obviously liked seeing the captain in such a good mood.

Still, the captain wasn't finished. He'd determined that there was hidden life on that island, and that was all. They still had to make contact with it somehow, and the captain, it seemed, already had a plan for how to do that.

"I'm willing to bet that if I step into this shadow and touch one of their buildings or something, I'll probably be pulled into their world." the captain suggested next, "Otherwise, some other interesting thing will probably happen, and even if my hand passes right through the building, we'll know a little more about our situation."

Rei-Nu nodded, however, and said, "If you do get pulled into their world, you'll probably either vanish from this one, or only appear to us in shadows, like those buildings do. Either way, there's a very real danger that you might not be able to get back out again."

However, it seemed that the captain of the Seeker had already thought about that.

"If that happens, then I want you to go back to the ship and let Thom know about the progress we've made." the captain explained, finally starting to make plans for the future, "I'll come back in twenty-four hours if I can, and if I can't, Rei-Nu can be in command of the ship and mission. He can decide how to proceed after that."

Harriet and Rei-Nu both looked very worried by that prospect, but they both nodded nonetheless. Neither one was going to question the captain's decision once it was clear that he'd made it.

Without another word to either of them, though, since he wasn't sure whether it would be appropriate to say good-bye or not, the captain stepped into the shadow again. The village seemed to have gotten a little smaller as they'd been talking, but then, the sun was rising higher into the sky behind the board, so that the shadow was also growing smaller. The captain knew that he had to make his move soon, so he reached out with his left hand, hesitating for only a moment to marvel at the wonder of his situation, before he felt something like hard stone make contact with his palm.

* * *

Suddenly, the world around the captain was very different. The land contours and the position of the water were just about the only thing about his location that seemed similar. Even the village that he'd seen through the shadow looked different; not in terms of its shape and position, of course, but in its color, tone, and the way that light reflected off of it. The very way that objects around him looked was so different, that it was almost unrecognizable. It seemed virtually impossible to describe how things looked to his eyes, in terms of light and darkness, but the sun behind him had changed, becoming a mass of darkness, and casting shadows of light on all the buildings. The whole place was so dark, that it was almost colorless, but not quite. The only things the captain could make out distinctly were the contours of the things around him, but individual features, and especially different shades of colors were completely invisible in that supernaturally-strange environment.

As he looked down at the contours of his own hands in that strange, new world, however, a feeling of terrible, confusing disorientation swept over the captain at once, threatening to overwhelm him, but then suddenly, something else rose up deep inside of him, which forced him to focus again. It was a feeling in his heart, which struck back at the confusion. The captain felt, for a moment, as though his very soul were feeding on the strange situation that he'd found himself in, and growing stronger at once; more able to handle it. Quickly, he straightened up, feeling ten times stronger than he ever had before, then suddenly feeling as though he could take on the very world itself.

He stood before the town for a while, basking in that feeling of invincibility, until he found that his eyes were also adapting to the bizarre, new environment. He began to see the contours of the objects around him from two directions at once, then four, then eight, until he found that he could see all there was of nearby objects, as though looking at them from all directions in some sort of three-dimensional grid. He still couldn't make out much color or texture, but he could take in, in a single glance, the precise shape of objects around him, and he could sense that nearby, three people were rushing towards him; two men and a woman.

The men were large and strong, the woman powerfully-built and uncommonly-beautiful. All three were breathing hard, but clearly not from exertion, so they must, the captain thought to himself, have just been worried. In moments, they were standing around him, but the power that he felt inside of himself was reassuring, regardless. The captain got the distinct feeling that he could defeat them if he needed to. In fact, he'd never felt so confident in his life.

"Who are you, and why have you come here?" one of the men demanded, as soon as the three of them had surrounded the captain.

"I'm Captain Link," he replied, feeling more energetic than ever, "and I've come here because I need all of you..."

For a moment, the captain felt words that he hadn't intended to say flow through his mind. Any number of temptations that he'd never felt before were filling his heart for some reason, but he knew what he had to do and say, so he decided to ignore the weird temptations that he was feeling, for the moment.

"I need all of you... to help me... and my people."

For a moment, no one said anything, but then the woman spoke, sounding very suspicious of him.

"Just because we live in shadows doesn't mean that we'll help them."

"What?" Link asked, totally confused by that point, "I just want you to help the other hylians. They're starving to death, and Ganondorf is on the move. We need your help to... to put an end to those threats."

"Put an end to threats?" the woman muttered, still sounding more than a little suspicious. Soon, though, she and the other three had backed off, and seemed to be discussing the captain in hushed voices. At last, they approached him again, however, and the woman said, "Follow us."

With only a moment's hesitation, the captain did follow them, between houses and along streets, until at last, they came to a house that seemed to be about twice as big as the others in the town, though it was hard to tell much else about it, aside from its overall shape. The three of them brought the captain inside, and quickly guided him into a central chamber, where several chairs were arranged around a table. At one end of the table sat an old man in a long robe, and the captain was invited to sit down at the other end.

Due to his unusual view of those things, the captain wasn't able to determine the color or precise texture of any of the things in the room, but he could tell that the place was sparsely decorated, indicating that those people had also fallen on hard times, just like the people of Isle Prime.

"My name is Seram." the man in the robe said, before the captain could process much else that he was seeing, "I'm the sage who guides and teaches the people of this town. Who are you?"

"My name is Link." the captain replied, "I'm a captain from Isle Prime."

"I hear that you came from outside our village." Seram noted, without reacting at all to what the young sailor had said, "How?"

"I found your village on the inside of a shadow, and touched it with my hand." the captain simply explained honestly.

"Why did you come here?" Seram asked next, still sounding suspicious and confused, although he certainly seemed calmer than the other three had when they'd first met the new arrival.

"Well, I wanted to ask you to help the people of Isle Prime." the captain replied, stating his case to Seram quickly, "The danger's worse than it's ever been, and they're willing to do anything to escape it. They don't even remember the exile of the sages, and I'll bet they'd apologize for what happened if you asked them."

For a few moments, Seram was silent, and the captain suspected that it was because he was either deep in thought, or carefully choosing his next words, so that they might convey the right message without seeming offensive. At last, however, he spoke sadly.

"You have a scent that we've all learned to fear; the scent of the great shadow."

For a moment, the captain puzzled over those words, not sure what to make of them, but at last, he decided that the best thing he could do was make a guess.

"Great shadow?" he asked, "You mean Ganondorf?"

The muscles in the face of the old man twitched slightly at the captain's response, but he couldn't tell if it was because he'd hit the nail on the head, or if Seram was surprised by his lack of knowledge. However, he learned the answer to that puzzle in mere moments, when Seram continued to speak.

"Ganondorf is just one evil man." Seram replied, "He has some knowledge of sorcery, but my people have records of the days when everything was chaos, and destruction and discord reigned. Ganondorf is like an arrogant gnat next to the great shadow that I'm talking about. You should know the great shadow better than anyone, though."

However, the captain had absolutely no idea what the man was talking about, and he knew that there was no point in trying to act like he did.

"I'm sorry," he replied, "but I've never heard of the great shadow before."

"It has other names in other places," Seram responded, "but its form is always the same. It's a terrible blackness, which consumes everything it touches."

At once, the captain sprang to his feet in alarm and recognition. The darkness that had been used to destroy the island of the Fire Village immediately popped into his head. Even in that strange, pitch-black realm, Seram seemed to notice the look of amazement on the captain's face, and grabbed him by the shoulder with a level of strength so incredible, that the captain felt as though that man could have crushed his shoulder blade, if he'd wanted to. Slowly, he sat back down again under the older man's grip; worry all over his face.

"I see." Seram noticed aloud, "You don't have to tell me any more. You've encountered the great shadow. It was by accident that you encountered it, and by accident that you escaped from its grasp, but accident or not, you've been corrupted by it, and frankly, I can see several possible ways to turn that to our advantage."

Swiftly, Seram snapped his fingers, and suddenly, the woman had re-appeared from behind the doorway that led into the meeting chamber.

"Stefanie," Seram said to the woman with a jerk of his head, "I want you to take a message to Arad. Tell him we've found someone infected with the shadow itself, and that if he promises not to hurt the man, we'll let him learn what he can from this."

Already, the captain was started to feel terrified of that person who Seram called Arad, and protested, "But I have to get back to my ship! If I don't get back within twenty-four hours..."

"At this point, neither you nor I have any choice in the matter." the old man interrupted, however, sounding grave, "None of us can leave this realm to return to the realm of light at this point. We're completely trapped here."

When he heard that, Link was absolutely horrified. He couldn't afford to be trapped, after all, because he had lots of things that he still had to do. For one thing, he had to bring those people back to Isle Prime, and go looking for the other sages.

"There has to be a way out." the captain exclaimed indignantly.

"That's what we're hoping to learn from you." Seram replied, "Purely by accident, you've been given a deeper connection to shadows than even I have. If you can't help us escape from here, no one can."

"But I don't understand!" the captain exclaimed, flabbergasted, "I thought you were the sage of shadow! How could someone like you be trapped in a shadow of your own creation?"

By that time, however, Stefanie had sprinted off, and Seram sat back down at his end of the table, motioning for the captain to do likewise, and seeming just as sad as before, as he started to explain himself.

"It'll be several minutes before we get a reply from Arad," Seram said slowly, "and maybe it's just as well, because the story I'm about to tell you will take some time."

"I'm listening..." the captain replied with curiosity, putting both arms eagerly on the table in front of him as he tried to get a good look at the sage. In just another moment, the sage began his tale, and the captain listened in fascination, trying his best to understand the situation that he'd found himself in.

"Well, for a long time, we used the shadows and the shadow magic of our world to conceal ourselves from those who wanted to harm us. We even knew how to use our magic in combat, against enemies of enormous power. Even the loss of Hyrule, terrible though it was, never damaged us, or our way of life so badly, that it could rob us of those powers, which we'd used since the dawn of civilization."

"Ultimately, what first caused problems for us was Ganondorf's need to escape from Hyrule. Even if he'd rampaged unchecked through the world, we would have been safe, but his entrapment in Hyrule led to the darkening of his heart even further, to the point where he made a pact with the great shadow, and that's how he escaped from Hyrule, and into the Great Sea."

"The portal of darkness." the captain realized, feeling amazed that he hadn't drawn that connection before, "I discovered it a while ago, but I thought it was just the product of magic or something."

"No." the shadow sage replied, however, "It wasn't. Beyond the boundaries of all known realities, and between them is a vast void. What lies beyond that void is still unknown, but we do know that the void is darker than night, because it's filled completely by the great shadow."

"The great shadow is, as far as we can tell, a network of creatures made of darkness, which act as a single entity, and there are so many of them, that if they gain a foothold into a reality, they can swarm over and consume it, in time, until nothing is left. Ganon's powerful and evil determination gave them that foothold. Suddenly, they found themselves in the position of making an offer to Ganondorf. They offered him an escape from Hyrule, so that he could find the other pieces of the Triforce, and for a while, they must have been afraid that his heart would grow in wisdom, and turn away from darkness, but then one day, something happened to Ganondorf. He started to feel as though all his hopes and dreams were gone, and wanted to destroy everything and everyone else for some reason. His soul became as dark as any soul in any world, and the great shadow found its foothold again. Now, the shadow is pretending to offer him help in his quest to bring down hopelessness upon the peoples of the Great Sea, but the more of their power he uses, the more of their dark energy he releases into this world. Soon, their presence in our world will be strong enough to act independently of him, and everything that we know will come to an end."

"Ganondorf doesn't even realize that?" the captain exclaimed, shocked and horrified by what Seram was describing, "We have to warn him!"

"It's been tried," the shadow sage replied, "but he'll never believe you. Even if he did believe you, it wouldn't make a difference to him. Destroying the hope of others is all that matters to him now, and he'd view the end of our reality as just a quick route to that."

As the captain thought about all that, however, he drew a very smart conclusion.

"Let me guess." the captain said, leaning back in his seat for a moment, "They already have enough of their power in this realm to imprison you in your magic shadows."

"You understand our plight well." the shadow sage admitted, "That's why we need to examine you. You might hold the secrets that we need to drive back their power."

The captain was still going over those thoughts in his head, when the woman who was apparently named Stefanie returned, saying, "Come with me, dark one. We have to examine you."

Nodding his head in resignation, the captain let himself be led from the chamber of the shadow sage, worried about his future and the future of those people, but feeling, somehow, just a little satisfied. The fate of the world depended on him, after all. It was a realization that was both worrying and gratifying in a couple of different ways.

* * *

"I still think one of us should go in after him." Thom said as he and his two crewmates discussed the situation on board the Seeker, "I don't know if you've heard the rumors about our captain, but from what I heard, bad luck tends to follow him like a pet dog."

"I don't believe in bad luck." Harriet said reluctantly, "But if things have turned out badly for him in the past, what's changed to make this situation different?"

"Simple." Rei-Nu replied, from the captain's chair, "Captain Link is growing up. He's begun to learn the seriousness of saving lives, and for the first time in his life, he's genuinely trying to learn how to contemplate the issues that he has to deal with. Before, he might just have taken everything at face value, not thinking twice about anything that happened to him, but now..."

Rei-Nu paused for a moment, as if searching for the right words to describe the change in their captain, but at last, he continued with a somewhat puzzled feeling, not sure whether he'd found quite the right way of describing the change just yet.

"Last night, when I spoke with him; when we solved the puzzle of finding the Shadow Village, he was thinking about the same facts over and over from different angles. He wouldn't have done that last week. What's more, he's learning to take precautions in case of a catastrophe. Appointing a surrogate captain, just in case he couldn't return was a leap of wisdom that I hadn't thought him capable of."

Harriet looked a bit skeptical of that, and for a moment, she seemed as though she wanted to tell Rei-Nu that he only thought it had been wise because he'd been the one appointed, but deep down, she must have known that he was right. The captain had grown a great deal in those past few days, and one by one, they were all starting to feel as though they could really depend on him; a feeling that they'd never really had about the captain before.

Thom still looked worried, however. That might have been because he hadn't been there when the captain had made most of those decisions, but for some reason, he still didn't seem to trust Captain Link. It was as if he wanted to have faith in their captain, but just couldn't make that leap.

"It worries me," Rei-Nu continued, however, "that he's been gone for so long, though. Obviously, he can't have forgotten about the time limit he gave us. He must have run into some kind of trouble in there. Maybe he's having difficulty escaping."

At that point, he paused to give them all some time to consider the many kinds of trouble that one could run into while exploring a shadow, but it was pointless to even guess about that sort of thing, and eventually, Rei-Nu continued sadly, though he still wasn't feeling all that sure of himself.

"At any rate, I have to follow his instructions, so now I'm the captain. We'll stay here for another two days, and if he doesn't appear by the end of that time, we're heading back to Isle Prime to regroup, and see if any of the sages managed to make it there, but I'm not losing anyone else into that shadow. Maybe the sages can help us find some more resources, so that we can continue this mission later."

They each had different thoughts about their orders by that point, but obviously, that was the nature of command, and none of them considered disobeying their new captain. In a moment, they stood up and returned to their stations, projects or thoughts, their hearts full of worry. However, they were really all worried about the same thing. What was happening to their crew? Everything seemed to be falling apart.

* * *

The tests had been very difficult. There had been tests of the captain's strength, his running speed, his level of knowledge, and many other tests, including more than one blood test, and yet, in every physical feat, the captain seemed to excel, while in savvy and knowledge of the world, he did very poorly. Furthermore, a study of his blood had turned up a strange chemical that his body was feeding on, like a type of super-steroid. Overall, the tests weren't conclusive, and Arad seemed to have learned a lot less from them than he'd hoped to, but regardless, they were over, giving the captain some time to rest from the nonstop examinations.

"At least," the captain thought to himself as he ate the meal they'd provided him with, "Arad is a nice enough guy. I was worried he'd be some kind of mad scientist or something."

At the time, Arad was sitting on a chair nearby, watching the captain carefully. Because of the weird way he had to see things in that bizarre, shadow world, the captain couldn't tell the color of Arad's hair, eyes or skin; only that his hair was average length, and he wore a sort of short robe, apparently to identify him as a doctor.

"You can't wait to get out of here either, can you?" The captain asked him after about a minute of silence.

"I admit," Arad replied, "It'd be very good to be able to see the sunlight again, but that doesn't mean I'm going to start getting careless with your examinations. In fact, I'm only going to be more careful. We may not get another chance like this."

"What would you do if you ever got out?" the captain asked. For a moment or two, Arad didn't say anything in reply to that, however. The question had clearly caught him off guard. However, even once the shock seemed to have warn off, he didn't really reply to the captain's question. In fact, he didn't say a word.

"Well, if you and your people don't have anything else to do, why not come back to Isle Prime with me on my ship?" the captain said, once he realized that Arad wasn't going to answer his last question, "The hylian people really need your help, and I swear they wouldn't try to hurt you or drive you out anymore. They're too desperate for that."

Arad seemed to think about that for a bit. However, after contemplating the offer for about five seconds, he replied, "You should really address that with the sage of shadow, but I'm afraid that no matter who you bring it up with, you'll get the same reply."

"What reply?"

"Ever since the great exile, the sage of shadow has never followed anyone else's orders. If a hero arises, he has the duty to serve him, but other than that, I can't imagine him changing his mind."

"What about me? Couldn't I be a hero?"

"You?" Arad asked, looking both confused and disappointed all at once, but at last, he said, "You're a fluke. You've been given a strange power through a supernatural accident. It's not a power that you really understand, and your control over it is limited too. A hero is something much different than that."

Although that reply disappointed the captain, however, he didn't respond to it. He'd finished his meal and was starting to get tired. He wasn't happy with the situation he'd found himself in, but he knew that if he was going to get out of it, what he really needed was a little time to rest and think things over.

* * *

The following day, there were a few more tests, but after a couple of hours, the captain was allowed to stretch his legs outside for a bit. As he looked up into the dark sky, however, he could see the black sun traveling into its zenith, but what's more, he swore that he could almost see a swirling mass traveling through the heavens, surrounding them like an ethereal veil. He hadn't seen it before, but then, a lot had happened since he'd been outside last, and he was starting to wonder if that could be the real form of the barrier that had imprisoned the people of the village of shadow?

Was that ethereal thing really their enemy, the captain wondered to himself. Was that all that kept them in? For a moment, the captain felt as though he could reach up and snap it like a twig, if it was really as thin and flimsy as it looked. Those people clearly thought that he was just some kind of accident, who couldn't be a hero, but he just wasn't ready to accept that, and at last, his expression hardening in determination, Captain Link decided that he was going to be the accident who'd free them all.

At once, the captain stretched his arms up towards the heavens and clenched both fists. He felt an unnatural energy pulsing through his body as his magic and that strange, dark force combined into a single mass of energy, and for a moment, he could swear that he felt himself levitating, but then, his power traveled outward like an enormous claw, and pierced the barrier of darkness as though it were made of gauze, drawing it aside like a vast curtain. Moments later, it was gone completely, and the captain knew that he'd freed all the people of that town from their self-made prison.

Or rather, he should have known that, but somewhere deep down in the pit of his stomach, the captain still felt insecure. It was true that he'd found a way to control that terrible power, and he did seem to have torn down the barrier that had imprisoned those people, but something was still wrong. For a while, he just stood in the middle of town by himself, struggling to recall the words of the Hero of Time; that heroes are only heroes when they don't think that way about themselves, and he'd just been starting to think pretty highly of himself. Then, the captain remembered some other things that he'd heard the Hero of Time say; heroes have to depend on and inspire others. Heroes, after all, can't do everything by themselves.

However, at that point, the captain remembered one last thing, which brought it all together; the test of a hero in training, given by Link in the knight academy, in the vision that the captain had seen through the time guard's ring; the test of clear thinking, and the first time that he'd ever been exposed to the Hero of Time's wisdom. Even after all that time, he realized in awe, he was still learning new things from what he'd seen and heard of that great man.

With incredible speed, the captain dashed back to the sage of shadow's meeting room, and there, he found that the old man was preparing to thank him properly for his incredible deed, but sure enough, there was a dash of disappointment behind his smile, which spoke volumes to the captain. Although Captain Link was pleased to be able to see the shadow sage with his eyes for the very first time, he knew that what he'd just gone through had been a lie.

"Listen." the captain said, before the shadow sage could speak to him, "Listen for a moment."

If he'd been faced with that same situation less than a week before, the captain might have just accepted everything that he'd seen; assumed that the whole thing had been precisely what it looked like, and then invited them all to join him on Isle Prime, but by then, he'd begun to realize the truth. He was growing up, and he knew that he needed to face the facts of his situation.

"I'm not a hero, and I can't lead you." the captain said quickly, "I appreciate what you're trying to teach me, but please let me go back to my ship. If they're still there, they'll be worried about me."

"What do you mean?" the sage of shadow asked, clearly putting on an expression of false confusion, "We can all leave, thanks to you. You don't need my permission."

However, at that point, the captain started to look exasperated, because he was tired of dealing with the deceptions of that man and his people.

"This isn't real." the captain said aloud, "My recent experiences have been some kind of illusion. I never drew back any darkness barrier; I never harnessed any kind of shadowy power, or saved any of your people. I'm just a ship captain. I can't be your hero, and that escape route that just opened in the shadow barrier wasn't my doing. It was yours, wasn't it?"

However, as the captain finished his short speech, the sage of shadow smiled. On top of that, it wasn't a fake, disappointed smile, like it had been a few moments before; that smile was real. After just a moment, he walked right up to the captain and placed his hand on the younger man's shoulder, then looked into his eyes and said, in the most heartfelt voice that the captain had ever heard from the man, "Well done."

Suddenly, the whole world around the captain seemed to be drawn back; not like a curtain, but more like a coating of paint; retreating to the areas of the room where the light couldn't reach it; under the table and chairs, and beneath the windows. Then, that strange, shadow illusion vanished completely, once again changing back into an ordinary shadow.

"You were right." the shadow sage continued, though he was still smiling as the effects of his spell vanished, "We've been deceiving you, but we had a good reason for it. For a long time, our people had nothing to believe in; nothing to work towards. Once we understood the basis of shadow magic, and had begun to master it, we lost our focus. We had no goals to accomplish. The ordinary people didn't want our help, and our own society had gone as far as we thought it could, so ultimately, we needed a leader who could take our people in a new direction, or else we'd start degenerating, due to simple lack of purpose. We needed a hero to follow. Many others came before you, and they all left alone, because they all thought they were heroes, but you... You know you're not, which proves that you're worthy to lead us into the light."

"But how many lies did you tell me?" the captain asked, still feeling confused, and trying his best to get at the truth, "I mean, how much of that was an illusion?"

"Well, the history of our people was the truth." the shadow sage admitted, "The existence and threat posed by the great shadow was true, and so was Ganondorf's history with it. You do have a horrible, dark power sleeping within you, which is beyond any of us. That much is still true. However, we lied about being trapped here. We've never been trapped here, and we can leave any time. Of course, I'm sure you'll want to double-check all that for yourself. I know I would."

"There's no time for that!" the captain exclaimed, finally letting his agitation show again, "I told my crew I'd be back in twenty-four hours! If they don't hear from me soon, they're bound to leave without me! In fact, they might have left already! Show me the way out."

The shadow sage seemed a bit dismayed by the captain's desperation, but he grabbed his shoulder in one hand again, and in moments, the light shone down on them for the first time in days. They both blinked with great difficulty, and some pain as the bright light assaulted their eyes, but after a few minutes, the captain could see that his ship was still out there; and better yet, someone on board had noticed him. One of the longboats had begun its descent from the ship, and it was carrying Harriet and Rei-Nu.

"Only four people man your entire ship?" the shadow sage asked in disbelief, the moment that he saw what was going on on the deck of the Seeker, but that subject hardly made the captain feel any better.

"It was six when we set out from port." the captain said grimly, "But we were attacked by Ganondorf, and two were lost."

"Four people aren't enough to man that kind of vessel efficiently." the shadow sage observed, however, as if he hadn't even heard the captain's words, "I'll have some men from my village help you out with ship operations, and of course, I'll be coming with you as well. Where are you headed next?"

"I... I don't know." the captain remarked in astonishment, feeling pretty intimidated after his recent lesson in humility, "I don't really feel comfortable with this."

"Of course you don't." the shadow sage replied, however, his face lit up with a delighted grin, "You feel overwhelmed, like you don't deserve all of this help, or all these people following you, or maybe you feel like you can't handle it all by yourself, but never stop feeling that way, because those are the feelings that you used to pass our test, and it's those qualities that make you a hero."

At first, the captain thought about replying to the shadow sage in irritation, because he still felt just as nervous as before, but then, for a moment, he also felt something else. Captain Link was starting to feel as though his role in the world was becoming much clearer. It was as though his whole life had been spent in a fog, and suddenly, the fog had lessened for a moment, before being drawn back over his eyes like a blindfold. There were things that he was clearly meant to do; people he was intended to help. But before he could figure out any specifics about who they were, the revelation vanished, and all he was left with were unanswered questions, crashing against the edge of his consciousness like waves on a beach.

"I haven't finished my journey yet." the captain thought silently at last, "I'm still imperfect. I still have a ways to go before I can be like he was."

That was the thought that drove him onward, however, hours later, when the Seeker's course changed, and the new crewmembers serving under Captain Link began its next journey, towards the oceans further to the north.


	23. Pt3 Ch6 Secrets of Wind and Earth

Chapter 6: Secrets of Wind and Earth

* * *

The captain's eyes had finally adjusted to the light of day when he got back on board his ship, but his old crew still seemed absolutely amazed; especially Harriet. For a while, they looked as if they didn't even recognize him.

Finally, though, Harriet walked up to the captain and put one hand on his shoulder, then drew back again after only a moment; apparently shocked by the way his skin felt.

"Wow." Harriet said at last, still looking astonished, "You look like you've been through something awful."

"Huh?" the captain asked, genuinely confused by her comment, until he glanced at himself in the surface of one of the nearby portholes, and gasped in horror at what he saw. During the whole ride back to the ship, the captain hadn't even looked at his reflection in the water once, but soon, he was feeling all over his face and head, poking himself in the arms and legs, and in the place where his ribs were. Somehow, his every muscle was as hard as a rock. Every hair he had, especially the ones on his head, were standing bolt upright; sticking straight out, as though being drawn away from him by a static charge. For a moment, he felt about ready to panic over that weird change, but after a second or two longer, he just relaxed a little; exhausted.

"A lot's happened over the past few hours." he replied to Harriet at last, "I don't really want to talk about it more than that."

"In that case, should I ask these strangers you've brought back to our boat?" Harriet asked, looking a little irritated, "They all seem willing to talk."

"They think I'm their hero or something." the captain just replied, not really feeling too worried about anything that the people of the shadow village might say about him, "The one in the robes is the sage of shadow. He's bringing four more men on board to take care of the ship's operations, and the rest of the shadow people will meet us at Isle Prime somehow. I figure they've got a boat stashed in shadow world or something like that."

"I'm not sure about this." Thom said, pacing back and forth behind the captain, however, "If they turned out to be untrustworthy, do you really think we could beat them in a fight?"

"They are untrustworthy." the captain agreed quickly, "In fact, the whole time I was in the shadow village, they pretty much did nothing but lie to me. Still, I think we're stronger than we realize, and we have something they don't."

"What's that, exactly?" Harriet asked impatiently, however, still upset by the captain's casual approach to the whole situation. However, it didn't look like he was quite ready to answer her.

"I'm gonna go sleep for about a day and a half." the captain muttered, looking more exhausted with every passing second, as he stumbled over to the captain's cabin, "I'll tell you when I wake up."

Then, leaving his crew staring after him in shock and dismay, the captain was soon closing the door to his quarters and lying down in bed, feeling awfully tired, thanks to all he'd just been through.

* * *

When the captain finally woke up, it was only about four hours later, but he was feeling a bit refreshed, and his muscles and hair had returned to their normal state, so he quickly changed into a different outfit, although, like his old one, it was still green, and stepped out on deck. There, he saw a sight that took his breath away.

The deck of the Seeker was alive with activity. Men were pacing back and forth along it, going about their duties, tying up ropes, carrying boxes to put in the cargo hold, and so on, some exchanging happy words, short bits of news, or jokes with one another as they did so. The ship was fairly small, so the captain shouldn't have been surprised that he could get that impression from only eight people aside from himself, but what really surprised him was that he'd never seen people under his command so content in their work before, and he especially hadn't been expecting that kind of change from the inhabitants of the village of shadow, which, as far as he could tell, hadn't specialized in happiness.

The sage of shadow was speaking with Rei-Nu at the stern of the ship, while Harriet was discussing something with one of the shadow villagers. Thom and the other three were all very busy with ship's operations; straightening the sails, manning the wheel, and watching from the crow's nest. On top of that, the captain could see that they were already several miles from where they'd been, on their way to the island of light. He smiled as he walked up to Rei-Nu and the sage of shadow, and waited for one of them to notice him, which only took a moment. Seram paused deliberately in his conversation within fifteen seconds, to allow the captain to interrupt.

"I have to say," the captain admitted, once he'd noticed the pause in the discussion, "I'm impressed. I've never seen people so content with their work."

The sage just smiled at first, although he replied only a few seconds after that.

"You're the one who deserves the credit for that; not me. My men have never worked for a hero before. It's put them in good spirits, because it gives them hope. I suspect you're also surprised that the shadow people experience happiness so easily. Well, we're hylian, just like you. We wouldn't be able to live if we spent our lives in gloom. Shadow is just our weapon; it's not our dogma."

That hadn't occurred to the captain at first, but he nodded in acknowledgement of that simple truth. It kind of amazed him just how much he'd been ignoring the fact that the people of the sage villages were still basically hylian. In fact, until recently, he'd been viewing them as some kind of aliens or supernatural beings, like the fairies, but they weren't like that at all. Most of them were at least partly hylian, and they all wanted the same thing; survival. In fact, they really had so much in common, that he was astonished by just how separate their worlds had become over the years. What really amazed the captain, though, was that in his childhood, he'd put so much effort into looking for the sages, and had never known about those villages at all.

"But the King of Red Lions did," Captain Link realized silently to himself, "and he didn't tell me. He knew all these sage villages existed. What was going through his wooden head?"

Just as he was thinking that over, however, from atop the crow's nest, one of the men from the shadow village cried out, "Land ho!"

Quickly, the captain squinted, to see if he could spot anything out at sea, and sure enough; it was just as the lookout had said. There was land on the horizon; a small island, with seemingly nothing on it, but then, the isle of shadow had looked the same way. It was right in the place where the isle of light apparently was, and that meant that the captain and his crew had an obligation to check it out.

* * *

Soon, the Seeker got within range of the island, and the captain finally had the chance to choose four people to join him on his mission. He picked himself, Thom, Harriet and Seram out of the crew of nine, and together, they stepped into the longboat, and watched as the men from the shadow village lowered the smaller boat into the water. Soon, they were landing at the island, and stepped out onto the wet sand together, surveying the small spot of surrounding land.

At once, the captain looked around, feeling the sand underneath him with both his feet and hands, clearly looking for some concealed entryway into the light village, if there really was one. At last, however, when he couldn't seem to find anything, he turned to face Harriet again, and asked, "Can you make a torch?"

It only took Harriet a few seconds to whip a wooden stick and some chemicals out of her supplies, and set one end of the stick ablaze. Then, she handed it to the captain, receiving a few words of thanks in response, although it was obvious that the captain had something else on his mind by that point. Soon, he was waving the torch back and forth, but after a few minutes, he handed it back to Harriet, who put out the fire a moment later by sticking it into the wet sand.

"No." The captain muttered quietly to himself at that point, although the others had heard him too, "I figured it wouldn't be that simple. Seram, I'm not sure what kind of spell or technique the sage of light could be using to protect himself. Do you have any idea?"

"If the entrance to his village is invisible," the sage of shadow thought aloud, "it could only be because he's bent light around it, to make the entryway look like ordinary sand. If you'd like, I can use a shadow spell to try to find it."

The captain nodded swiftly, and in response, the shadow sage began to concentrate. His muscles tensed up and he shoved both hands outward, then at once, the entire island was covered in shadow, and for a moment, the captain saw a slight glow of about three feet across to his left. Then, the shadow spell dissipated, and everything was back to normal.

"There's the answer," the captain said with a satisfied smile, walking over to the place where he'd seen the glow, "It's here somehow."

Swiftly, the captain started digging into the sand with both hands, casually and carelessly tossing it left and right as he worked, until his hands hit something hard and wooden, and at once, he grabbed hold of it and pulled. Over two square feet of sand were swept aside as the captain yanked open the large, wooden door that he'd found underneath it. It was a very odd-looking door, though. It was perfectly square; two feet across, and it felt and sounded like it was made of wood, with a wooden handle on top. However, from above, it looked more like part of the sandy ground than anything else, and there seemed to also be some kind of illusion covering it, which made that section of the ground look like it was just part of the sandy beach. The captain was amazed that such incredible things existed, but he wasn't about to get skeptical at that point. Too much had happened already that was too strange. Obviously, the world was much bigger, and contained much more than he'd once suspected.

The strangest thing about that particular situation, though, was that even once the captain had yanked open the door, he couldn't see what was inside of it, because the camouflage spell was still covering it. However, he knew that the door was there, and that was enough. Quickly, he felt below it with his foot, and discovered that it led down a series of stone steps, though he knew that he'd have to actually enter it to find out where they led. However, the gears in his head were already turning, and he was carefully planning his next move.

"Okay," the captain said, after thinking in silence for a few moments, "there's a set of stairs here that leads down; probably to the village of light, but there might be other things down there too. Before we go on, though, I think it'd be best if we got a better idea of what we're capable of. Seram's new to the team, and I'd like us to be able to depend on each other. We can start by reciting our names and the abilities and skills we have, which an average teenager doesn't. Then, we'll know what we're capable of, and it'll be easier to work as a team, alright?"

After a moment, Thom, Seram and Harriet all nodded, all of them looking a bit confused by the suggestion, however.

"You first, Thom." the captain ordered, once he realized that no one was volunteering.

"Alright." Thom replied, "My name's Thom, and I'm skilled with stonemasonry, stonecutting, and the building and shaping of stone structures. I can lift greater than a hundred pounds with almost no difficulty, and I have an excellent sense of balance. Oh, and I can also hold my breath for five minutes if need be."

"My name is Harriet." the young chemist said, taking her turn next, though she clearly felt a little silly over having to introduce herself to people she'd already met, "I'm a chemist, which is to say that I know about many different kinds of chemicals, both where to find them, and how to gather and use them to create smoke, fire, solvents, and a few other normal chemical reactions. I'm also familiar with both sides of organized law, and I can walk on lava or water like ordinary ground."

"I'm Seram." the sage said, looking slightly less embarrassed about the introductions, as the newcomer to the group, "I'm the sage of shadow. I'm a competent fighter, though not very physically strong. However, I've mastered the art of using spells of shadows, which enable me to create and control the shape of shadows, to blend into shadows and become virtually invisible, and perform some other shadow techniques. The exact specifics would take some time to explain, but I think you'd be impressed by my fighting techniques."

"And I'm Link." the captain said at last, "I can fight pretty well with a sword and bow, I'm good at swinging on, tying and climbing ropes, and I know a decent amount about explosives and how to handle them. I can also protect myself with magic, walk on lava or water, and I have a pair of bracelets that give me superhuman strength. Lastly, I'm a captain with some skill at handling a boat along wind and waves, and I have a small collection of enchanted items."

"Now that that's out of the way," the captain concluded, looking satisfied, "I think we've all learned a little bit about one another that we didn't know before. If you think we can function as a team right now, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't investigate this door."

With those last words, Link stepped down through the illusion of sand, and into the stone hall below the door in the ground. He felt extremely nervous; sinking into the sand-illusion, but he was doing a decent job of hiding his fear, and he could only wonder if his team was feeling as confident as they would have with the Hero of Time leading them. It was a question that he asked himself many times, while exploring that underground maze.

* * *

It seemed like hours that the group was wandering around in that underground maze made of stone. The hard, cold feeling of the stone walls under the captain's fingertips became a very familiar one, as he struggled to look out for trap triggers like the kind he'd fallen victim to in the chambers under Headstone Island, and simultaneously keep track of which directions in the maze he'd already tried, and which he still needed to explore. However, the more he tried to keep track of both traps and directions, the harder it seemed to get. Keeping track of one of those things he could manage, but both at once was just proving to be too much for him, so as the group rounded another corner, he turned to face Harriet with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Harriet," the captain almost begged sadly, "I need you to try to keep track of the directions we've tried so far in this maze. I'm having a hard enough time watching out for traps. I need you to let me know which way to go next whenever we reach a corner, okay?"

At first, Harriet looked a little confused, or even disappointed, but she seemed to realize, after taking just a couple of seconds to think it over, that the captain was as mortal as anyone else there, and if that fresh reminder made it easy to remember that, then it was at least something that she should have expected. At least that way, she thought, he was looking out for traps, which meant that the chances of their team being almost drowned were much less than they had been the last time they'd been in a dungeon.

Soon, Harriet nodded swiftly, and put all those thoughts out of her mind, as she began to hurriedly memorize directions, distances and durations, in an attempt to get a mental picture of the maze. After just a few minutes of additional wandering, however, Harriet's efforts were completely successful, and pretty soon, the group found themselves stepping out of the enclosed maze of hallways, and into a larger, more open room, which looked something like a dining room. There was a wooden table in the center, with several chairs made of the same material all around it. However, at the far end of the room, sitting in one of the chairs, apparently asleep, was what appeared to be a fairly tall man, wearing a suit of red armor, and the captain was kind of surprised to see him. He seemed like a guard of some kind, but he didn't make a single move. He just sat there with his head drooped as much as his helmet would allow, as the group stepped into the chamber.

"Do you think this could be the guard of the village of light?" the captain wondered aloud, hoping with all his heart that it was. A guard of the village of light, after all, would probably recognize the uniform of the sage of shadow. However, unfortunately, Seram's answer to that question was very discouraging.

"No." Seram replied, obviously very worried by that point, "This isn't the guard-post of the village of light, and this being isn't dressed in a guard's uniform. I doubt it's even a hylian at all."

Their words, however; as quiet as they'd intended them to be, had woken the sleeping being; not with a start, but in a groggy, half-bored sort of way. Soon, however, with a clattering noise, he raised one hand.

None of them even saw him move, but in a moment, the guard's hand was open, and there was a hole in the wall behind them. The members of the captain's team were clearly all flabbergasted, and more than a little scared by that sudden display of power, but the captain, at least, also recognized it as just that; a display, not an actual attack. If that armored beast had wanted to strike out at them, after all, it would have put a hole in one of them instead.

"I suggest you leave now." the creature said in a light, airy voice, like nothing the captain had ever heard, seen or felt before, "I don't want to hurt any of you, but I can't let you in there."

As the creature before them said that, however, sitting back down in his chair, the captain noticed the doorway at the far end of the chamber, and began to feel as though something about that situation was familiar, and not just in comparison to the fight against Ram. Something about that foe in particular reminded him of something he'd been told not long ago, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Still, the captain wasn't about to give up so easily. The Hero of Time had beaten Ram, and he had a feeling that that foe could be beaten too. Swiftly, he looked into the eyes of his team, and gave a few unspoken commands, but before any of them could execute a single attack against their enemy, the armored man had moved like lightning, and was standing between the four of them.

"Don't think I can't tell that you're planning something." the airy-voiced being said, "Do you really want to force me to fight you?"

At that point, more out of shock and alarm than any conscious decision, Link leapt towards the armored figure, drawing his weapon, and was instantly flung back across the chamber by a blow to the chest; too fast for him to even see. He collided hard with one of the chairs around the table, splintering the wood to pieces on impact. At that point, though, the others were reacting as though some invisible line had been drawn. The shadow sage retreated into one of the shadows nearby, and a wall of darkness erupted from the shadows of the room, engulfing their foe, but all at once, those shadows were flung back, by some kind of invisible explosion of force, and there was their enemy again, holding the old sage in one hand, and Thom in the other. In a single, swift motion, they were thrown across the room as well, where their heads collided with the stone wall at the far side, and they both lapsed into unconsciousness at once.

Seeming to feel that its work was finished, the creature cast a brief warning glance at Harriet, but she was so terrified, that she couldn't move, so in less than a second, that horrible beast was seated back in his chair, seeming to doze off once again.

* * *

Harriet had been afraid of other things before, but she'd conquered that fear because she'd known that her soul was steadily becoming more like the soul of a hero. However, the moment that she'd seen that armored man defeat her closest friends so easily, she'd felt something horrible; like nothing she'd ever felt before. That fear, she slowly started to realize, was just as bad as it would have been if she'd ever needed to fight the Hero of Time himself, or Ganondorf; ancient, powerful veterans, who'd seen a hundred battles come and go, and had experience like nothing she could ever touch. At last, though, she moved to help the captain to his feet, hoping that action wouldn't be seen as an attack against their new, terrible enemy.

The moment that Harriet took the hand of the captain, the creature looked up, causing her to freeze with fear again. Then, however, he spoke once more, saying, "Your mortal powers... your greatest attacks and strengths... your sharpest skills are all as weak and transparent to me as a gang of ants following a line of sugar in the dust. That's why I know you won't try to attack me again."

Harriet was still terrified of their new foe, but he at least seemed like he was trying to reassure her, so she slowly helped the captain to his feet, and was dismayed to find that his left leg had been badly bruised from the creature's first attack. However, the captain looked as if he'd realized something about their foe that he hadn't, before, been able to put his finger on. Once he'd regained his footing, with Harriet's help, he clearly had something to ask that odd warrior.

"Is your name Nyarokai?"

At once, the creature was on his feet, and for a moment, Harriet and the captain were afraid that he'd attack them again, but his reaction had only been one of surprise, and he soon calmed down and gestured to two of the other chairs at the table, seemingly inviting both of them to sit there with him. Not daring to disobey, Harriet sat the captain down at one of the chairs, then sat herself down at another, right next to his.

"Where did you hear that name?" Nyarokai asked carefully, leaning back, as he sat at the head of the table.

For a moment, the captain looked as if he was debating whether or not to lie. After all, they'd all learned about Nyarokai from the Hero of Time while they'd been training in lava walking. However, when he spoke, it seemed that he'd decided to lie to the ancient fighter.

"There's a legend of a godlike warrior in red armor named Nyarokai among my people." the captain said at last, but Nyarokai replied to that at once, with a cutting note in his voice.

"You're lying." Nyarokai said, "There is no such legend, but it doesn't really matter. At the very least, if you know my name, then you know about my former encounter with the Hero of Time, and I can tell that your lady friend knows about that as well. What are your names?"

"We... We'd prefer not to say." The captain replied, however, realizing that he couldn't fool that strange being with lies, "You can call me 'captain,' and she's 'chemist.'"

At first, the captain had expected Nyarokai to take offense at that, but instead, he merely leaned back in his chair again, and replied, "as you wish."

"Actually," Nyarokai continued, "it's a good thing you showed up. I've been wanting to confess my problems for some time now, but I've never met anyone who knew my true name, since before the flooding of Hyrule. Just relax, though. I swear I won't hurt you if you don't try to attack me or get through that door. I'm going to tell you a story that's different from any you've ever heard, I'll bet. Then, when I'm done, you'll take your friends and leave. They're unconscious, but they're not injured as badly as you are, captain."

The captain merely nodded in response. That was marginally good news, even if it meant that making it into the village of light wouldn't be possible.

"Hundreds of years ago, I was a general in an army of the undead." Nyarokai began, "In life, I'd been a powerful soothsayer and sorcerer, and when I died, I became a living spirit of the desert; strong as a hundred earthquakes, able to control the fundamental forces of the desert, and perform many incredible miracles. For you children, who've never seen a desert, I can assure you that it was beautiful. To look around, and see nothing but miles and miles of sand, reflecting the sunlight of the hot sun above… a few bugs and snakes… a cactus or two... Those were the things that survived most often in the desert, but very little else could. It was a place of incredible sights for those strong enough to live in it, like I was."

"Well, my king, a vampire named Tassicle, was the only being I knew of strong enough to rob me of my undead immortality, so I had no choice but to obey him, and whenever our army conquered a new land, I would command the desert. I'd done that again and again for a hundred years, and I'd never once failed, until one day, Tassicle decided to invade Hyrule. I'd been in the deserts of Hyrule for quite some time, building my power, when I encountered the Hero of Time. He was with a wizard friend, and although their power wasn't enough to overcome me, they did manage, through extreme cleverness, to escape my wrath. Just as I was about to finish them off, however, they summoned a goddess named Gerudi, and we fought the fiercest battle that I've ever been involved in. It was one of the few battles that I remember vividly to this very day. She was incredible."

"At any rate, it was a very close fight, but in the end, I was defeated, and as I died, Gerudi offered to take me to her house in the spirit realm of the desert, where I'd live with her for all time. It was an offer that a being like myself couldn't possibly refuse. It was the afterlife I'd always dreamed of; my own kind of heaven; a place where I could touch another living being without snapping them in half; an eternal desert of joy and companionship. It was the sort of place that I'd always wanted, but never been able to reach. For a while, I thought that we could live happily there, for the rest of time."

"Too late, though, I learned that the rest of time can be jarringly short, even for a goddess. A couple of years later, our world was flooded, and the desert vanished; all deserts vanished. Without the deserts, Gerudi was gone, and her house was gone, and for hundreds of years, I was alone; a nebulous spirit, drifting in a void of nothingness. For a long, long time, I traveled, propelling myself from one location to the next in the desert spirit realm, but I couldn't find any deserts to emerge from. I returned to the place where I grew up, and all the deserts that I'd once conquered and ruled on three whole continents, but they were gone too. If there were any deserts left in the world, I slowly realized, they were too far away for even a being like myself to reach them, so I was helpless for hundreds of years."

"Then, just recently, Ganondorf appeared. He'd apparently discovered the secrets of Tassicle's magic about eight years ago, and he used that magic to bring me to life. At first, I was grateful, and I created this armor, to make myself useful to my new savior, but after no more than a day, I realized that returning to a life of conquest wasn't possible for me. I'd never been happy as a conqueror, and all I wanted was to once again feel Gerudi's strong hand in mine, as impossible as I knew it was. So, I told Ganondorf how I felt, and he said that if I wanted to continue living, and not to be cast back into the void, I'd need to at least serve the function of a guard. I told him that was more acceptable, and now, here I am, guarding something of great danger to him from outside intruders, sinking deeper and deeper into despair each day."

With those words, however, Nyarokai leaned forward again, and said, in a voice full of sorrow, "Now, get out, and leave me to my misery."

The captain and Harriet were both understandably astounded by that story. By that time, Thom had woken up, but he'd only heard a small bit of the tale. Seram, sadly, was still unconscious.

However, soon, the captain had decided to take a chance. He decided to disobey Nyarokai. He wasn't going to leave; not yet. Instead, he spoke up again, trying his best to sound confident in the face of that mighty warrior.

"Do you have any idea what you're guarding?" the captain asked boldly.

"No." Nyarokai replied just as quickly, "I don't, and it doesn't matter either. If I fail, I'll be cast back into the void."

Bt then, however, the captain realized that he had the upper hand, and he pressed that advantage, like any true warrior.

"You mean you didn't know about the village of light just beyond this door? The village of shining radiance where, legends say, any knowledge can be gleaned... any secrets uncovered?"

Nyarokai's sharp intellect must have immediately caught onto the potential of such a promise. It was clear, by that point, that he did want answers, and even if he realized that the captain was lying to him, he might disregard that knowledge if he thought that he could get those answers. At once, he got to his feet, and spoke again, more to himself than to Link, though.

"I know nothing about what Ganondorf wants me to do or protect here, and I don't want to be cast back into the void. That's what I've been trying to escape from since I was brought back. Still, if what you just said, by coincidence, happens to be true... You've made me very curious about the contents of the chamber beyond this one."

At once, three small gnats flew out of one of Nyarokai's gauntlets, and slid through a crack above the doorway leading into the next chamber, and all three of his conscious visitors were astonished by that, and a bit revolted. Still, not one of them said a thing about it, and for quite some time, the group in that room waited as patiently as they could. At last, however, two of the gnats returned, and entered Nyarokai's gauntlet again. At that point, the armored warrior sighed, as he looked at the door with some intense feeling, though it was hard to tell what that feeling was, through the opaque helmet that he was wearing.

"I have a dilemma." Nyarokai said aloud at last, "Beyond this door is indeed a village of light, and it might really hold the secrets that I need, but I don't dare to open this door, or I'll be inviting the wrath of Ganondorf."

"I think that the real question is whether you're willing to risk the void to know those secrets you're looking for." the captain replied, though he was sure that his ploy was becoming quite transparent to the ancient, supernatural veteran. Still, that comment was the deciding blow in his war of words with Nyarokai.

"Yes." Nyarokai replied with determination in his voice, "There are things that I'd risk the void to know."

In a moment, therefore, Nyarokai flung open the door, causing the bare earth in the room beyond to be swept to one side in a cascade. There was a tunnel beyond the door, but Nyarokai seemed to know where that tunnel led, so he turned to face the captain one more time before heading down it.

"Wait here." the ancient fighter said, "When I come back, I'll tell you whether or not you can enter."

Then, he closed the door behind him, and proceeded down the tunnel.

* * *

The tunnel branched off into six or seven different paths at several points, but Nyarokai's gnats had navigated that maze before him, so he knew which directions to take. At last, he emerged into a cave deep underground, and his eyes opened wide at what he saw...

The cave stretched on for over a mile in every direction, and there, at the center, was a city full of small houses, and one great tower in the center, which stretched up nearly to the cave ceiling. Almost half of every building in the city shone bright lights upon its surroundings; the tower, the roofs, and even the walls surrounding the village. Crime would have been virtually impossible in a city like that one.

In fact, Nyarokai was so fascinated by that incredible world, stretching out before him, that for a few moments, he nearly forgot why he was there. He still needed answers from the people of that village, though, and he couldn't forget that for long. Soon, Nyarokai was walking further into the city, eager to learn whatever its people could tell him.

* * *

After about half an hour in the village of light, Nyarokai returned to the chamber above, where the four adventurers were still waiting for him. Seram had woken up a few minutes before, but Nyarokai hardly paid any attention to him at all, still obviously not considering him a threat. His focus was clearly on his most recent revelations, though; the things he'd learned while he'd been down in the village of light.

"I've met with the sage of light." Nyarokai remarked, as soon as he'd entered through the door, closing it behind him with a bang, "He told me a number of things that I think you ought to know."

Harriet and the captain hadn't even bothered trying to stand up since Nyarokai had left, and Thom had sat down in the meantime, but those words from the armored man prompted even Seram to take a seat, as Nyarokai moved to sit at the head of the table, and tell them what he'd heard.

"The sage of light told me that I'm angry at someone who isn't at fault for my fate, and that the person who's truly responsible is here in this room."

For a moment, a look of mortal fear came into all of their eyes, but Nyarokai merely continued to recite what he'd been told.

"He also said that the man responsible for my fate has a chance to save me from it. I don't understand how that could be, but he's told me so much about myself already, that I don't dare to question his judgment. He told me that Gerudi still exists, but that she's powerless, at the moment, to take form or shape without a desert to inhabit. Aside from that, I couldn't learn much else from him that I didn't already know. It seems that he doesn't have the power to tell the future, or see into people's souls; just to cast the light of truth on lies in the lives of other beings."

The captain was very surprised to find out that his stories about the village of light; which he'd just made up to excite Nyarokai, had in fact, been partially true, but he couldn't interrupt that powerful being as he continued.

"I think he wants to meet with you. He might even want to leave this island soon, but at this point, it doesn't matter if I am punished by Ganondorf. I've learned too much that goes against what I used to know. Tassicle was a fiend, but he was also a warrior, and like any good warrior, he knew that no soldier should be sent into battle unless they're well-informed, or else they'll most definitely fail. Already, Ganondorf has betrayed me by violating that basic rule, and I can't continue to work with someone like that; punishment or no punishment."

"Now," Nyarokai concluded sadly, looking back down at the table with a slouching posture, indicating some level of depression, "you might as well get going. The sage of light is waiting for you."

The captain had to struggle to keep from smiling at that point, as he and his companions stepped forward, to open the door that would lead them to the next stage of their own lives.

* * *

To Seram, who'd seen the village of light before, the sight that awaited the small group below wasn't terribly shocking, but the other three were clearly astounded by the splendor of the place. Towers resembling lighthouses were scattered throughout the town, and quite a bit of the town itself either shone a bright, but not blinding radiance, or else glowed in a phosphorescent way. To the captain, especially, that whole place seemed astounding. After all, it was an entire town, lit so brightly that although it was underground, it seemed like midday. Already, the captain could understand a part of the reason why Nyarokai was so bitter at having that place kept a secret from him by Ganondorf, but it seemed so much less like a village, and more like a real city, thanks to its splendor.

As the crew of the Seeker walked down the road towards the center of town, however, they were noticed by a young boy in a shirt and pants, which glowed a soft green, who immediately started to look worried, and rushed into the nearest house, presumably to warn the people inside that more strangers had entered town. The second person to notice them, however, was a man who was wearing very ordinary-looking clothes, but he didn't really seem average either, because he was leaning over what looked like a garden, shining beams of light from his palms and into the ground. The captain could guess what he was trying to do, though. Those people, like his own, were struggling to grow food, but their powers just weren't enough; they needed help. Really, though, that was all the more reason to see the sage of light as soon as possible.

The house of the sage of light wasn't precisely at the center of town, but it was close enough to it that it wasn't difficult to find. Harriet was the first to reach the door, so she was the first one to open it and step inside. However, the moment that she was inside, the door shut behind her with a snap. The captain, who'd been about to follow her in, lurched back in alarm at that point, and tried to yank the door open by force, but even with all his strength, he couldn't get it open.

"Is there another way in?" the captain asked the shadow sage, but Seram merely shrugged, looking just as perplexed as the rest of them.

"I'm sorry." he said, "I don't think there's any way in now, and you couldn't break through this door, even if the two of us helped you. Don't worry about Harriet's safety, though. I know the sage of light. He won't hurt her."

"So what are we supposed to do?" the captain asked worriedly.

"For now," Seram replied, sitting down in the road, "I think we should wait. All of the sages have the greatest respect for patience. If, in half an hour, she doesn't come back out, I'll help you to find a way in."

The captain clearly wasn't satisfied with that situation, but at the moment, there was nothing he could really do to change it, so he seated himself in the glowing road alongside Seram, and had started to feel a bit uncomfortable when Thom followed suit. There'd been a time when all he wanted was for people to follow his lead, but more recently, a strong streak of humility had begun to surface in the captain's soul, and being regarded as, if not a role model, then at least a leader by someone like Thom was becoming very uncomfortable. Still, the captain could hardly order Thom not to sit in the road with them. At the moment, there was very little else to do.

The three sat together in the road for a while, and the captain nearly counted the seconds, as five minutes passed, then ten, then fifteen. At last, after about seventeen and a half minutes, the door swung wide open, and out stepped Harriet, with a downcast look on her face. Her three companions each got to their feet at the same time, though the captain was the first to reach her, since he was in an even greater hurry than the other two.

"What happened?" the captain asked, horrified by the look on Harriet's face, "Why are you so sad?"

For a moment, she said nothing; not even looking him in the eye, but at last, she spoke in a tone of voice that clearly reflected the emotional strain that she'd just been through.

"The sage of light does have the power to expose lies." Harriet said, in a voice so soft, that it was almost a murmur, "Link, don't go in there. If you do, you'll be hurt by the truth. He told me that."

"What about you?" the captain asked urgently, however, tossing aside care for himself, "Has he hurt you?"

"No." Harriet hurried to reassure him, even looking into his eyes for a moment, though she still seemed unbearably sad, "He told me some things about my past. He exposed some of the lies I've been told by others in my past jobs."

"It was the criminals, wasn't it?" the captain asked, trying his best to be sympathetic to his friend, "A lot of people lied to you when you were a criminal."

"Well, yes," she muttered sadly, trying to find the right words, "but I was expecting that. What really hurt was finding out that just as many people lied to me when I was... when I was in law enforcement."

The captain's eyes widened as Harriet said that, and hers began to fill with tears. In a few moments, she was leaning against one of the houses nearby, to hide her face from the others in its bright light, but they could tell that she was still crying silently.

"That poor girl." Seram muttered, just softly enough that she couldn't hear him, but the captain could, "I've seen this before. She's learning the nature of the people of our era; their dishonesty; their selfishness; their desire to avoid justice for evil deeds. In the times when Hyrule flourished, people were raised not to act that way, but in these times, only a few truly good and honest men exist. Having been a criminal before, she must have thought she'd seen the worst of the hylian people. What a jarring thing to be informed that even people who seemed nice were monsters on the inside; that their thoughts and words so often meant opposing things. That poor girl."

Almost as an afterthought, however, Seram leaned over, and whispered a warning softly into the captain's ear.

"Do you have any faith in yourself, your world, or the people in your past? If you do, then I'd advise you be careful. The more faith you have in people and things like that, the worse it will feel to enter the house of the sage of light."

By that time, Harriet's face had begun to dry, so she turned to face the rest of them with a look of shame, and said aloud, "Captain, you have to relieve me of duty."

"Why?" the captain asked, however, though he was almost sure that he understood her reasoning, "Have we done something wrong?"

Harriet almost smiled when the captain said that, but she quickly replied, "It's not that. I feel... I mean... You must think I'm terribly silly. I've been sobbing like a little girl."

The captain just smiled, however. "Sobbing" was an exaggeration. She'd been very quiet the whole time.

"No." he said, "I don't think you're silly. In fact, I think you're very brave, for being able to face us again after being shown the truth like that. I do need you to answer one question for me, though. Did you tell him that we needed his help?"

"No." Harriet muttered, however, looking more ashamed by the minute, "I totally forgot."

"Well, that's alright." the captain replied, closing his eyes for a moment, though he didn't stop smiling, "I don't think any less of your for it. All this means is that I'll have to tell him myself."

"But captain; didn't you hear what I said?" Harriet protested desperately, "The truth is in there; the complete, total, blunt truth. It's sharper than a sword; it can hurt you. You're not ready to face that, captain. No one is."

For a few moments, the captain considered her words, but in the end, he looked into her eyes one last time with a big, friendly smile, and said, loud enough that everyone nearby could hear him, "Maybe you're right, but I have to try."

So, without another word from anyone, the captain opened the door and stepped through, trying to rifle through every old proverb he'd ever heard about truth in his mind, as the door closed with a sudden snap behind him.

* * *

The captain wasn't really surprised when the door had been closed behind him, though it did have the effect of being just a little more terrifying than he'd expected it to be. However, that feeling was still blunted slightly by the fact that the chamber into which he'd stepped was very well-lit, and the person who he had to meet was right out in the open. Sitting on the floor in front of him was a man of about fifty years of age, with grey hair and blue eyes, and wearing yellow and white robes. On one hand, he wore a ring with a hole in the middle, which seemed designed to house a gemstone of some kind, though the gem was clearly missing.

"Hello, captain." the light sage said, as the captain sat down on the floor in front of him, "I've been expecting you."

The captain swallowed hard as the sage said that. It seemed like the sentiments of a tiger ready to pounce, but the sage of light was still just smiling, as though nothing was wrong at all.

"As expected, you refused to listen to my warning, but there's no helping that now. This will probably hurt you in the short term, but maybe you can benefit from it in the future."

"Wait a minute!" the captain exclaimed, however, feeling very worried, and more than a little confused by what was going on around him, "Who are you?"

"Me?" the old man asked, with something that seemed a little like surprise, "I'm Torou; the sage of light. I grant the light of truth to anyone who enters this building."

"Even if you do tell me the truth," the captain persisted, however, "what makes you think I'll believe it?"

"Because I won't simply be telling you the truth, so much as showing it to you." Torou replied flatly, still frowning a bit, "Of course, you really have to experience it to understand."

"Is that necessary?" the captain asked at once, already feeling pretty worried, "I mean, do you really have to show me the truth? Can't we just skip that part?"

However, as soon as the captain had suggested that, it was obvious that Torou wasn't about to go along with his suggestion. In fact, the way his frown was deepening, he might even have considered the very idea offensive.

"You clearly came in here to talk with me about something," Torou replied, "and anyone who wants to discuss business with me has to know the truth first. That's the law of our village, to make sure that no lies can enter our community. It's absolutely essential. I'm sorry. You can leave now, if you'd rather."

Link just sighed, however. He had no desire to offend those people; especially not their sage, and he had no intention of leaving until he'd said what he'd come to say, so he muttered, "Alright, fire away."

* * *

In a moment, the captain felt himself bathed in a warm, shining beacon of light, and the vision of the sage before his eyes was eclipsed by it completely. It was a strange light, because while it didn't feel blinding, exactly, he also couldn't really tell what was beyond it. He blinked once or twice, but the light didn't go away; not even when his eyes were shut. At that point, he had no choice but to watch that light, and whatever it dared to show him. However, he could still hear the voice of the sage of light, speaking to him as shapes and colors began to appear from within the blinding radiance. A hundred faces and a hundred lies passed before eyes in an instant, and he started to realize the implications of each in turn.

"I'll use this well."

"I like you, kid!"

"We shall do our best to solve our problem as quickly as possible, so that we may better help you with yours."

One by one, every insincere compliment, every promise made with no intention of keeping it, and every outright lie came to light. Most of them, however, were a blur from the captain's childhood, and he'd been expecting something like that. In his childhood, he'd been easily fooled by lies. Then came the words of the King of Red Lions; the boat who'd ferried him across the sea in an attempt to vanquish Ganondorf many years back. A lot of what the king had said had been lies to get the captain to do what he wanted, but considering how things had turned out, he'd expected that too.

Then, however, came two voices that the captain had never expected to hear.

"I am a zora sage. For an age, I offered my prayers here in the Earth Temple, praying that the power to repel evil would ever remain within the Master Sword. And yet...unfortunately, due to Ganondorf's evil designs, the Master Sword you hold has lost this power... ...He attacked this temple and stole my soul, knowing that he had to remove the power contained in that enchanted blade. In order to return the power to repel evil to your sword, you must find another to take my stead in this temple and ask the gods for their assistance... ...The song you just conducted is one which will open the eyes of the new sage and awaken within that sage the melody that will carry our prayers to the gods."

"I am Fado of the kokiri tribe. I know I appear to you as a child, but the eyes can oft deceive. I am a most esteemed sage. I had been praying here so that the power to repel evil would continue to be contained within the blade of the Master Sword... But I was attacked by the evil Ganondorf... and this is what happened to me... ...Once you do, I'm certain the holder of the instrument will feel the blood of the sages awaken within his veins. That Wind Waker you hold was used long ago to conduct us sages when we played our song to call upon the gods. In those days, it was always the king who conducted for us..."

Soon, the faces of Laruto and Fado; the ancient sages of wind and earth seemed to stare at Link out of the light, as he heard those words. However, there was nothing but blunt honesty on those faces. How, he wondered, could their words be lies?

Then, Link heard the voice of the sage of light once again; his words intruding into the vision that he'd projected onto the captain somehow.

"Your past contains more lies than the past of any person I've ever met, but you've seen through most of them already. These two, however, told you lies that you never questioned. Let's witness the events that they described."

Suddenly, the faces vanished, and a chamber appeared, containing Fado, playing on the fiddle that the captain had once seen him use as the sage of wind. Suddenly, however, several moblins barged into the room behind him, and slew him with a single thrown spear, which penetrated his chest and spread a green-colored energy all the way to the far wall. In only a fraction of a second, Fado's body had faded away, thanks to the horrible wound that he'd just sustained.

The next scene that Link saw was one of Laruto, being killed by Redeads, her body broken so cleanly in half, that it sent a stream of red across the room. The captain swallowed hard as he watched those horrors, before they faded from his vision too.

"It was monsters on the rampage," the sage of light observed aloud, "horrible things; things that, with swords and a bit of training, they could have fended off, but it wasn't Ganondorf himself who murdered those two."

As he said that, however, the scene changed again, to show Ganondorf screaming furiously at the wall of water that had constituted the heavens of Hyrule.

"Yes." the sage of light remarked again, "Ganondorf was trapped in Hyrule at the time those two were killed. His magic may have played some part in causing their deaths, but it wasn't a conscious act on his part."

"Is that the lie they told me?" the captain asked, however, almost hoping that it was, since such a lie would have been very easy to accept.

"It's one of the lies in their words." Torou replied, however, "But I'm afraid that's not the end of the deception. There's more; further back in the past, which you need to know."

Suddenly, the scene before the captain's eyes changed again, and he saw the image of Fado, once more in the stone chamber, but that time, there was an old man with him. The old man was dressed in the same style of ceremonial garb as Fado had been, and the captain could see that he was Fado's predecessor.

"Here you are," the old man said, handing Fado the fiddle, which Link had seen him use, "This enchanted fiddle will be your greatest weapon as the sage of wind. I know it will be difficult to play, at first, but when you play here, you'll unleash magic that will help us all. That's your duty."

That scene faded to white again, then another scene began; a scene of Laruto in a similar situation, receiving her harp from an older zora woman, who was dressed in the garb of the sage of earth. Then, that vision faded too. However, thanks to those visions, the captain had realized another truth.

"Laruto and Fado were never conducted by the king. They were never conducted by anybody. They were given the job of playing as sages in isolation, and they followed through on it."

"True," Torou continued, "but I also sense a deeper darkness, concealing a truth still further back in the past."

Next, the scene changed again, revealing the inside of a house, which was made from stone and brick. There, three men were gathered. One was dressed in fancy clothes, and was obviously very wealthy, while the other one seemed to be a sailor of some sort, and the last was apparently some kind of mage, because he had an aura around him that indicated some mastery of magic.

"Is he gone?" the wealthy man asked.

"He left port this morning." the sailor replied, "I was starting to think he'd never leave."

The captain gasped as he heard that, however. The implications of that were even more horrible. Laruto and Fado had never been to Hyrule at all! They'd been born and raised in the Great Sea, because the people he was listening to at that point were definitely people of the ocean.

"Well, the deed's done." the wealthy man observed, "The public has turned an unfriendly eye on the old sages, and I think that's something that we can benefit from. That's where Paerson here comes in."

With that, the wealthy man gestured to the mage, giving the captain a name to go with the man's face.

"The sages are people who uphold justice." Paerson explained after only a second, "They glorify the ancient ways of Hyrule, and they talk about the wonder of all people living in peace, being supported with love by their king, and supporting him in turn. In their descriptions of Hyrule, they talked about us a land where people used their money generously, and they've been trying, for quite a while, to bring that way of life back."

"As you can imagine, some of us weren't exactly happy about that." the wealthy man interrupted, but Paerson continued, as though he hadn't heard him.

"Now that the public has decided to give up on the ways of the ancient sages, our job should be much easier. The problem is that they won't follow our lead any more than that of the sages, unless we give them something to believe in. In essence, gentlemen, we need to construct some sages of our own, complete with a hero to unite them. Now, I have some powerful magic. I can make magic instruments, which can bestow special powers upon the people who use them. I can give those instruments the power to force the master sword to obey them; at least to a small degree, against its active will. By doing that, I think we can create sages, and even heroes whenever we need to increase public morale, and people will do pretty much whatever we want in exchange."

"As for what we want, that should be obvious." the wealthy man added, "From now on, there's no higher form of government. There's no king, no mayor, and no court of justice. All there is is money, and the people who have it. Everyone's societal worth will be guaged by their wealth from now on."

"Of course, we can't ever let anyone find out that all of this was planned by us." Paerson explained carefully, bringing a look of worry to the sailor's face, although he still looked a bit undecided about the whole thing.

"You know," the sailor remarked, after several seconds in silence, "I used to believe in the way of the sages myself. Their promise of order and purpose, and a life I could be proud of seemed like a wonderful thing, but now..."

The sailor looked deep in thought for a few seconds, but at last, he replied, "Alright. I'm in."

* * *

Then, the visions faded, and the captain was back in the house of the sage of light. His entire body was covered in sweat, over the horrible visions that he'd just seen. Even Torou, who was obviously used to seeing the truth behind lies, seemed to be staring at the captain with nervousness in his eyes. The captain started to back slowly towards the door, as those horrible thoughts rushed through his head. The sages that he'd spent so long rescuing... helping... using to "recover the power" of the Master Sword had been set up by selfish men to deceive the people of the Great Sea. How could that be, he wondered? How could the sages of wind and earth be the tools of villains, instead of the hope of the people? For several minutes, those thoughts were swirling through his head, and he couldn't even muster the strength to get up and open the door; the strength to return to his friends.

However, just then, the captain remembered that if he returned to his friends then, it would be in failure. Quickly, that thought overcame all the others in his mind. What he'd seen was definitely the truth. The very nature of the sages of wind and earth was corruptive to his people, to the Master Sword, and to himself. He'd failed in the past, by trusting in them to make him invincible, but he was determined that worrying about the sages wouldn't cause him any more failures.

Choking back tears over what he'd just learned, the captain got to his feet boldly, and spoke with as much clarity as he possibly could, forcing back his feelings for a moment.

"Torou, the p-p-people of Isle Prime need your help now. Their danger has forced them to dissolve the old d-d-distrusts, and they... they want the help of the sages..."

Torou smiled as the captain said that, however, and it clearly wasn't just because of what he was saying, but because the ability to say it was a feat of great emotional strength on the captain's part.

"Thank you for telling me that." Torou said, his own worry visibly fading, "You can step outside and recover now. I'll take care of the rest."

So, with no further words passing between them, the captain left the house of the sage of light, then immediately fell to the ground, and wept bitterly into the dirt.

* * *

Within about an hour and a half, the captain, Harriet, Thom and the sages of light and shadow stepped through the doorway into the chamber where Nyarokai was still seated. At their approach, he turned his head to look at them, and for a minute, most of them were worried that he might try to stop them, but the sage of light stepped forth from among them, and only had to say a few words to the ancient being.

"My friends and I have to leave," the sage remarked, "and I think that the rest of my people will leave soon too."

Nyarokai just nodded in response to that comment, more like some kind of armored butler than a vicious killer, and returned to staring at the table, as he'd been doing before. That, they all realized, was his way of giving his consent, so they proceeded to leave the stone tunnels, returning to the surface at last.

As the captain stepped out onto the surface of the island, and started to smell the damp, sea air, a small part of his former strength seemed to have been breathed back into him. However, it still wasn't enough. He certainly wasn't weeping any longer, but he was still very despondent. Even Harriet seemed to be in higher spirits that him, and she hadn't said a word since they'd left the village of light.

Not knowing what else to do, though, the captain walked over to the sea and splashed some of the water on his face. It was bitter and salty, and in some ways, a little dangerous, if he'd gotten any in his mouth, but he was too experienced to make that obvious mistake. Harriet seemed to notice what he was doing, but didn't try to do the same thing herself. Instead, she put herself to work, drawing some chemicals from the water; the work of only a few minutes, while she waited for the others to prepare the longboat to return to their ship.

Harriet had collected one type of chemical from the seawater, and stored it in one of the pouches on her belt, and she was in the process of collecting a second type of chemical, when it seemed to dawn on her just what she was doing and why, and she proceeded to pour the clear, liquid substance into the sand at her feet in disgust.

"How can I keep doing this now?" Harriet muttered almost silently as she stared out at the sea, though only the captain really heard her words distinctly, "What am I fighting for? Is it really worth living in a world like this? Shouldn't I just throw myself into the sea right now?"

Ultimately, however, the answer seemed inevitable. Harriet just looked too scared to do that to herself. It was a good sign, in some ways, but the captain couldn't bring himself to feel relieved by it.

For him, the soul searching happened much more quickly. He asked himself many of the same questions, though he was silent as he thought about them.

"Why should I fight for the survival of my people?" the captain asked himself silently, "What have they ever done but lie to me?"

However, for the captain, the answers were different, because he'd arrived at a realization that he'd never considered before. The reuniting of the sages with the other hylians wasn't just a quest for power, to help defend them from starvation and evil sorcerers; it was a search for the hyrulian formula; the way that the hylians of ancient times had lived, which allowed them to live in peace with their brothers and sisters, and work every day towards a beautiful goal, and towards an accomplishment that could be fulfilling, day after day; the accomplishment of living for everyone's benefit, and not just their own as individuals; the accomplishment of living a life that they could be proud of. Maybe it was naive to think that by reuniting the sages with the hylians of Isle Prime, they could single-handedly reclaim everything that had been lost, but it was the first step towards something that made the captain feel better, even when the lives of his people couldn't. It was the first step towards their salvation, and the very moment that the captain realized that, a smile came back to his face; a genuine smile, which sprung from real happiness, and a real reason for it, so he stood back up to his full height at last, and made an announcement to everyone there.

"I have to say something now." the captain said, getting everyone's attention, "Hundreds of years ago, a kingdom called Hyrule flourished in this very place. People lived in peace with one another there, without having to fight one another. They didn't live by preying on one another, or by taking advantage of one another; they lived by helping each other, even when they were competing. They had long-term goals, and they were doing something they really cared about. That way of life was truly great. When Hyrule was flooded, our people lost their home, but more than that, they lost their way. I think Harriet knows what I mean when I say that people started lying to one another, preying on each other, and using one another. There's no glory in that, though; no happiness. I think that's part of the reason we've failed in just about everything we've tried to do so far, but there's still one chance. If we can reunite the sages with the people of Isle Prime, we might be able to not only help save the lives of our people, but their souls as well. I need you to help me bring the greatness of Hyrule to my people, because I'd do anything to accomplish that, but I still can't do it alone. Can I count on you to help me make things better; to help me save our world, so that our people can live happy lives again? Will you be willing to make any sacrifice, if it can just make that happen?"

The captain's speech had been intended more to encourage himself than his friends, but Harriet heard it, and was clearly stunned, ashamed, and inspired by his words, all at the same time. The sages both smiled when they heard those idealistic sentiments, and even Thom seemed to be in better spirits than usual, as he placed both hands on the longboat, and set it afloat, inviting everyone else to get in. However, of all the people there, the speech seemed to have done the captain himself the most good, because he was smiling more brightly than even the sun above them at that moment, and the reason was clear. Once again, he had a purpose. Once again, he had a cause worth fighting for, and that time, his cause was simple; to do the right thing from then on.

Suddenly, however, something happened that wiped the smile from the captain's face completely. The two sages had climbed into the longboat already, and Harriet was most of the way in, when a hissing sound erupted from the beach nearby. The captain turned quickly to look at the source of the noise, and saw that the beach, for about eight feet in a circle, was giving off a large amount of steam. Then, the hissing sound became a sizzling sound, and genuine smoke erupted from the sand. By that time, everyone had gotten back off the longboat, to see what was going on, and in a moment, the sizzling changed into the crackling roar of an open flame, and a ball of fire eight feet wide formed above the sand, giving off waves of heat, which drove back the captain and his friends. At last, however, the fire burned with the light of the sun itself, and at its brightest, it seemed to be swept back like a curtain, and vanished entirely; smoke, heat and all, as a large, brown boot made contact with the sand.

The captain had been shielding his eyes from the brilliance of the blaze, but as the spots began to disappear from his field of vision, he looked up from the boot, to the leg that it was attached to, then even further up than that. A pair of strongly-built, yet slender legs in white pants moved into his field of view, then a green tunic, done up with a brown belt, brown gauntlets, with red cloth lining the insides, and long ears, blond hair, and a green cap stretched over the top of his head.

He recognized it all, just as he had before, but the captain still nearly fell over backwards when the Hero of Time spoke out to him again, and in a voice full of confidence and joy, said, "Well done, Captain Link. You're doing a very good job so far."


	24. Pt3 Ch7 The Center of the Soul

Chapter 7: The Center of the Soul

* * *

For a few moments, no one said a word, but at last, Harriet rushed up and embraced the Hero of Time around his waist. The moment he'd appeared, she'd remembered his words from the isle of fire.

"The three of you have been putting your lives on the line with me." he'd said, "We've faced almost certain doom together, and we might do it again. To withhold the truth from someone you need to be able to trust with your life is really uncomfortable for all of us."

Those words had passed through her head again and again, until she'd realized that they'd been the single greatest statement of honesty that anyone had ever made to her, aside from the sage of light himself. Something about that complete, naked honestly was like a breath of fresh air after having been informed about so many lies in her past.

The Hero of Time didn't exactly return her embrace, but he didn't try to shrug her off, either. He apparently knew that she needed to get it out of her system, so after a few seconds, she let go and backed away, and Link turned to look at the group with a smile on his face.

"I hope I don't need to tell you that I've taken every possible opportunity to check up on how you were doing, but right now, I could really use your help. You see, up to this point, I've been trying to..."

However, before the Hero of Time could finish, the captain cut him off, saying, "Any business you want to discuss, we can discuss aboard my ship. But before we do, I'd say you owe us all a few explanations."

Harriet had expected the captain to say something like that, but there was an edgy tone to his voice when he said it, which surprised her. At first, she tried to convince herself that she was only imagining it, but the more she tried to ignore it, the more obvious it became. A tension was building between the captain and the Hero of Time. Surely, the return of Link should have been a happy occurrence, and she could tell that all of them felt at least some joy at seeing that he was alive and well, but by that point, there was another fact that was also as plain as day; at least to her. In some way, the captain didn't really want the Hero of Time to be there. Maybe it wasn't conscious on his part, or maybe he only partly meant it, but the captain was struggling with a dreadful feeling, which, at that moment, was directed at the Hero of Time. Still, she had to wonder just what it was about Link that was so horrible. What was it about the Hero of Time that merited enmity? Harriet tried in vain to answer that question all the way back to the ship.

* * *

"Well, the minute I saw what Ganondorf was doing, I recognized it as a variation on a dark summoning ritual." Link said, as the crew of the ship stood around the main mast to listen to him that evening, "So, naturally, I went and told the fire sage about it at once. Well, he knew that they had to evacuate the village, so he called everyone to the center of town, and they performed a magic technique of teleportation through flames, similar to what I just did on that beach. Fire surrounds the person, and they travel as a thin breeze of warmth or something. I'm no scientist, myself, but I know how to perform the technique now. However, I didn't at the time, so the fire sage had to take me with him when he teleported. The same was true for a lot of the children. They hitched rides with their parents, or with guards. Within a minute or two, we were all at Isle Prime, and we started to make preparations there for more missions out to sea, but that time, not exclusively in boats."

"As it turned out, Obo and the remainder of his people had arrived about a day before we did, and had been using their skills for a few pursuits, like drying out the higher plateaus of Isle Prime, but still, they could only do so much. With the help of the fire people and the people of light, it might not be long before a small amount of food can be grown again. Still, even then, I don't think we can solve the problem completely. My primary goal, though, is still to uncover the locations of all seven of the ancient sages, and now that the captain knows the truth about the sages of wind and earth, I really feel like I can count on him to help me out as well."

"Well, anyway, we spent about six hours choosing living spaces for the new members of our little alliance, and the rest of my time since the last time you saw me was spent doing two things. I wanted to learn the secrets of teleportation, and I wanted to learn the secret locations of the sages of time and forest. I've been more successful at the former than the latter, but at this point, I fully expect to accomplish both before long."

"So you have some clue where the other two sages are?" Harriet asked, her former curiosity returning, as she took an interest in those new, exciting developments.

"Well, yes." Link replied, "I do have a few clues, but I'll feel better pursuing them once we've contacted the spirit people, and learned what they have to tell us."

"So that's our next destination." the captain muttered impatiently.

"No." the Hero of Time replied with a frown, however, "This ship will travel thirty miles west, and seventy-six miles north. There, I want it to be on the lookout for a wooden object about half the size of a house, and shaped like a cylinder. A few warriors should enter that object, and if there are any monsters inside, they should be killed. Once that's done, the ship should hold its position and wait for word from me."

Over the course of their journey; both together and apart, the captain had grown in intelligence and logical faculties, as well as his ability to draw conclusions, but at the beginning of that journey, the motives of the Hero of Time had confused him terribly, and even after having improved so much, Link's motives were still just as puzzling to him. It was a hard fact that absolutely infuriated the captain. Day after day, mission by mission, he'd done things he'd never done before. He'd come to grips with his own mortality. He'd directed a mission by himself into uncharted waters. He'd learned how to lead, instead of just following, and how to observe with care, where once he would simply have charged in and tried to solve his problems by slashing them. He'd even learned a bit about the subtle nature of mind games, which had been so helpful against Nyarokai, and yet, there was that vision from another time, that person whose very existence in their time period was unnatural; who was always three steps ahead of him.

Of course, the captain knew that he was entirely at fault for that as well, which only made him even angrier, but one of the ways in which he'd grown over the past few days was in his self control, so he showed very little of the anger that he felt deep in his heart. Pretty soon, Link had finished his story, the rest of which consisted mostly of specifics about to what the people of water and fire had accomplished so far on Isle Prime, and after he was done with those explanations, he stood up to walk to the other side of the ship, giving the crew time to talk over what he'd said, and maybe even develop plans of their own, with one exception.

"Come with me." Link muttered as he passed by the captain on his way to the ship's stern, "There are plans we need to make."

So, ruefully, the captain followed the Hero of Time to the stern of the ship, where the gray sunset framed their silhouettes against the deck of the boat as they talked.

"I thought you wanted to find the sages." the captain began.

"It's more that just a mere want. It's essential." Link replied, still looking calm, though there was a stern sort of edge to his voice.

"Then you're saying that either this detour to the northwest will be a short one, or else, you want the two of us to search for the sage of spirit by ourselves, leaving the rest of the ship behind."

Link whistled in response to that, however, which made the captain feel more than a little better. Clearly, the Hero of Time was impressed with the leap of logic he'd just made; a leap that, a mere week ago, the captain wouldn't have been capable of.

"Yes indeed." Link confirmed after only a moment, "This boat is too slow. It would take us several weeks by boat to reach the island of the spirit village. If the two of us travel by teleportation instead, it'll be more like an hour and a half."

"Then you don't need to say any more about it." the captain replied coldly, "we're going to be leaving the ship soon, and traveling to the location of the sage of spirit. They'll follow the orders you've just given them, and we'll meet up with them later. Is that basically what your plan is?"

"Only in terms of the mission." Link replied, though he had an odd sort of smirk on his face by that point, "I have another plan that I'd like you to help me with, and it's simply this; I plan to convince you to tell me what the matter is."

At one point, the captain might have spent a few seconds puzzling over those words, but his recent experiences had made him far more quick-witted, and he understood just what Link had been asking him. However, although the Hero of Time seemed to be approaching the issue with good humor, the captain still didn't smile when he replied.

"Something about your story doesn't add up. What did you mean when you said you'd been watching us? Did you get some kind of super-long-range vision technique too?"

"No, nothing like that," Link replied, shaking his head with an amused smile, "but Obo was able to convert a small basin of water into a limited type of scrying pool, and that was how I could watch you, even though we were miles away from one another."

However, the captain still wasn't satisfied. A moment later, he brought up another thing that had been bugging him.

"You could have rejoined us at any time. Why wait until now?"

"Well, gee, captain. You've figured everything else out. I thought that'd be obvious."

The captain blinked a few times when he heard that response. It had an undertone to it that was far more flippant than he'd expected it to be.

"I waited until now as a gift to you." the Hero of Time said after only a couple of seconds, "I don't know if you've realized this, but since pretty much day one, I've been trying to help you find the correct path for your life, and fulfill your potential. Yes, you've faced great pain and danger over the past few days, but if you had the choice, would you ask me to go back and change that? Would you give up those days for anything in the world?"

Once, the captain's answer to that question would have been quick, impulsive, and based on his feelings, but by that point, the captain had tossed his former impulsiveness to the wind, and took some time to consider the question. The things he'd experienced, the challenges he'd overcome, and the hardships he'd endured without the Hero of Time there to guide him had truly helped him to grow far more responsible over the last few days alone. Would he, he asked himself silently, have changed any part of that? In the end, his reply surprised even him.

"No. The last few days have probably been the best part of my life so far. I've been growing, learning and maturing a lot, and I got to feel like it was all my doing for a while. I guess the last few days have made me a better man, and I'd go through it all over again if I could."

"Well, there you are." Link replied with a shrug, "I'm sorry if my absence caused you pain, but I only wanted to help you out. In fact, I still want to help you."

"And you came back because you knew I'd need teleportation to reach my next destination." the captain guessed after only a moment.

"Our next destination." Link corrected him with a smile, "Life is no less a learning experience for me than it is for you, captain, and we'll have our chance to get back to it tomorrow morning."

With those words, Link walked down some steps on the ship's deck, and through a door just beneath them, leading to the crew's quarters, where he'd spend the night. The captain, however, remained on deck for over an hour after their discussion had finished, with a chaotic swirl of thoughts and emotions spinning through his mind.

* * *

The next morning, the captain and Link had very little to do to prepare for their journey. Primarily, they had to get dressed, step out on deck and appoint a replacement captain; inevitably Rei-Nu, to take over command in their absence, and that was done in less than ten minutes.

The more difficult part of their preparations, and also the more time-consuming one, was wishing the crew good luck, and taking in the looks on their faces, because many of the crew seemed to doubt that the two Links would ever make it back from their mission, either because they still didn't really know what it was, or because worrying about the safety of those two gave their minds something to think besides the very real danger that they'd most likely be facing in a very short time. Regardless, the "good-byes" and the "good lucks" were over when the morning sky was still colored its distinctive shade of pink, and soon, both Links found themselves enveloped in the strange sensation of soaring across a vast distance, with no eyes to see, and yet, they could. They had to hears to hear, and yet, there was sound. That was what it meant to teleport through heat. It was a great, uncharted speed, which outdid any boat ever made, and that was how they reached the isle of spirit; a bit shaken, but in one piece.

* * *

The captain felt like he'd just been hurled through the eye of a tornado, and had to assume that that was normal for a teleportation of that sort. Link seemed to have shaken off his dizziness almost at once, though, so the he did his best to do likewise.

"Did we make it?" The captain asked at last, his stomach still doing summersaults as he stood back up, "Are we on the island of spirit?"

"Yes." Link replied, surveying the village that spread out before their eyes on the tiny island that they'd found themselves on. The place seemed similar to the village of Windfall, but no people were walking up and down the streets. No shops seemed open to the outdoors. All the houses were apparently closed off from one another completely, with no clear windows or doors, as though they weren't even designed to be houses, but rather, lids to contain whatever was inside. The captain had expected that village to be visible, since its plain and simple remoteness would keep it safe enough from the people of Isle Prime, but he'd also expected there to at least be a way of entering the houses in that village.

"How are we supposed to get in?" the captain asked, feeling more aggravated than worried.

"We're not." Link replied, however, "We're supposed to keep out. That's why these houses are built without doors. We'll get in the same way they do, though; through teleportation."

"You mean everyone in this town can teleport?" the captain asked, amazed to hear that.

"Among other things." Link replied, "The people of spirit have mastered their souls to a much greater degree than on any other island. That makes them capable of many feats of an almost magic-like quality. By the age of five, most of them have learned teleportation, and a few other basic techniques, I'm told."

As Link placed his hand on the captain's shoulder again, and they were surrounded by the aura of fire, which allowed them to teleport, the captain marveled once more at the incredible things he'd seen on that journey. So much wonder existed in the sea; so many things he'd never imagined. He nearly felt ashamed that he'd once thought of himself as its champion, but before those thoughts could finish their journey through his head, they were inside one of the houses; apparently the house of the sage of spirit.

The two Links found themselves in a hall of some kind, about five feet wide and five yards long. The walls weren't painted, but had some kind of paper-like substance spread all over them with designs on it, which looked like a series of strings of different colors twisting and turning around one another. The floor was hard wood, and there were a couple of small tables at the sides of the hall, as if designed solely to make it narrower. However, those tables also had small devices on them, which resembled candles, and gave off a small amount of light into the hallway; just enough, in fact, that the two of them could see where they were going. The general mood of the place was very subdued, though.

"Try not to ask too many questions too quickly." the Hero of Time advised the captain, without looking directly at him, "The sage of spirit prefers to take time to contemplate things."

The captain just nodded slowly, as they proceeded down the hall to the far end, where there was a doorway leading into a larger room, only slightly better lit, with an old woman dressed in a brown robe, seated on the floor in the center of the room with her eyes closed. She had to be, the captain guessed, about sixty-five or seventy, and her hair was short and gray. She had many wrinkles, but despite those, the captain could tell that her muscles were still in very good condition. If she'd been standing, she would probably have been nearly six feet tall; an uncommon height for any woman, much less an older one like herself. The captain knew that he wouldn't have relished a fight with that woman.

"Come on in." she said to them with her eyes still closed, "I can see you're determined to meet with me."

Link sat down right in front of the sage, and motioned for the captain to do the same, then waited patiently for the sage to speak again. When she did, though, it was obvious that she was pleased with his patience.

"I can tell you're no danger to me or anyone else. Neither of your spirits contain any malice towards me. However, I also see that you want something from me; maybe more than one thing. What do you want?"

"A few things." Link said after a couple of seconds, "My name is Link; and that's also the name of my associate, who's a sea captain. I'd like to ask you and your people to help the people of Isle Prime survive the threats of starvation and devastation that threaten them at this very moment."

"I'll do what I can." she replied quickly enough, "What else?"

"I'd also like your help in finding the sages of time and forest." Link replied, "If you could sense their spirits, we could do the rest."

For a moment, the sage's face donned an expression of concern, as she focused hard on the task that Link had given her, but after about a minute, she spoke again, not exactly looking satisfied.

"There's an abundance of life beyond what the sea has to offer on an island three miles southeast of this very spot, and I sense a state of flux in the spirits around an island forty-five miles north of our current position. Those might be what you're looking for, but I'm afraid I can't tell you for certain. Did you have another request?"

"A question, really." Link replied, "Can you really read the true nature of a person through their spirit?"

At that point, however, the old sage smiled.

"For the most part." the sage of spirit replied, "But I have to be touching them."

"May I ask your name?" The captain interrupted. Judging by the expression that he shot at the captain a moment later, Link hadn't expected the sage of spirit to take that interruption well, but she actually smiled.

"My," she remarked in something like amusement, "it's been a while since anyone asked me that. My birth name was Zura."

"Sage Zura..." the captain continued; the sage's polite reaction encouraging his eager curiosity, "Can you tell me my true nature?"

For a moment, Zura paused, and in a very short amount of time, her smile turned into a frown.

"I could," she replied, "but I rarely do. You see, once people learn their true nature, it's usually not best for them. They begin to feel trapped by the essence of who they are, and even try to alter that essence by random acts, which are intended to be unpredictable, but ultimately, are merely insane. For me to be at liberty to inform you of your true nature, you'd need to be that special type of person who's content to be who they are once they're aware of it. However, if you want to take a chance, I can determine your true nature myself, but you'd then need to accept my judgment about whether or not it's safe to reveal it to you."

For a few moments, that suggestion scared the captain a bit. How, he wondered, could he let someone else know the true nature of his spirit, but run the risk of not finding out himself? It was a gamble; there was no doubt about that, but there were things that he felt he needed to know about himself, so after considering the matter for a few moments, the captain decided that it was a gamble worth taking.

"Alright." he said at last, "I'll accept those terms."

With those words, he held out his hand to Zura, and when she took it, her eyes seemed to glass over, as if she were watching a hundred threads of the captain's life and personality; each a separate motivation, and each with its own fears, anxieties and desires. She looked as though she were watching something that took all of her concentration, because it was so complex, but at last, she sighed despondently. Soon, the sage released his hand, and spoke to him, looking very disappointed by what she'd just seen.

"There's a lot that I can tell you, and a lot that you shouldn't know just yet. First, you're a puzzle of violence and pacifism. You fight almost as a first instinct, but you capitulate to any authority figure. However, you realized that just recently, and have already been trying to correct it. You're motivated by three desires primarily. The first is that you care about protecting your friends. The second is that you care deeply about what's right, though you aren't always aware of it. The third I'm afraid I can't share with you. Your connections to others make up much of your soul, as do your memories. Your connections to Link here are very strong; second only to a few other people. There's one person in particular, who you can't get out of your mind, no matter how you try. You're afraid that she needs your help."

The captain just nodded, however. He could feel in his heart that all of that was true, even if it wasn't everything he'd wanted to know. That sage, he thought to himself, was wonderfully talented.

Then, however, the captain heard something that he hadn't expected. Link had, with a smile, held out his own hand to the sage, and asked, "Can you tell me mine next?"

At first, Zura smiled back, though she replied, "With the understanding that it's under the same terms as your friend."

For some reason, Link grimaced when she said that, but he didn't retract his hand, so she took it and watched the visions passing before her eyes. She didn't seem to glass over as much when examining his spirit, as if he was in some way less complex. However, when she was finished, Zura looked completely confident and pleased.

"You're connected to, and care about everyone you've ever met." Zura explained, releasing Link's hand, "You find fulfillment of yourself in helping others. In essence, you have everything that you need, in terms of feeding your soul, but there's a single problem, which I feel you should concentrate on. Your soul depends on many things for its very survival; its views. If you witness something in the future that changes how you look at the world, you may not be resilient enough to recover from it."

"Yes." Link replied with a simple nod of his head, "I know."

"In that case, I wish you both godspeed." Zura finished, her smile returning, which they correctly interpreted as their cue to stand up again, "I'm sure you'll have a lot of things to keep you busy in the near future. I know I do."

"When do you think you and your people will be able to join us?" Link asked, however, obviously not quite ready to leave just yet.

"If all goes well, within hours." Zura replied, "There'll be some debating, but it'll be done swiftly. Hopefully, we'll reach Isle Prime by tomorrow, if we do at all."

"Good luck, then." Link replied with a congenial bow of his head. Then, he grabbed the captain by the shoulder, and soon, they were back outside again.

"She's one of the strangest people I've ever met." The captain admitted, the moment they were back outdoors, "But I'm glad I met her."

"Yes." Link replied, though by that point, he wasn't smiling, and looked pretty worried, "All in all, I'd say things turned out for the best. I think that we ought to wait a bit before returning to the ship, though. There are things here that still require our attention."

"You mean the other two sages. You want to recruit them as well." the captain concluded, immediately drawing the most obvious conclusion.

At that particular wording, though, Link's frown deepened slightly, but he seemed to understand the intent with which the captain had spoken, so he replied, "In a sense. To be honest, I'm more worried about one of them forgiving me personally."

* * *

In mere moments, Link and the captain appeared on an island containing several bushes and a few trees. The captain was absolutely amazed, at first, that so many plants could grow on such a small island, because it was less than a quarter of a mile across, and Link read that amazement in his eyes at once.

"Yes." he replied to the captain's unasked question, however, "That's good evidence that the sage of forest might be here."

However, as the two proceeded through the thick plant life, something happened that they couldn't have anticipated. Some of the vines on one of the trees swung around, grabbing them both by the legs, and lifting them up towards the tops of the trees, but quickly, Link drew his sword and freed both himself and the captain. Then, they both leapt back out of the forest environment as quickly as they could.

"What was that?" The captain asked, still out of breath, and feeling some left-over shock, thanks to what had just happened.

"Magic." Link replied, having tensed up, and clearly understanding something about what was happening to them, "Someone or something is using plant-based magic to control this plant life. It's not safe here."

"But who's doing it?" The captain asked, feeling very worried, although after a moment, he realized that he had one more question to ask, "Come to think of it, couldn't you just use your fire powers to destroy the plants?"

"Sure I could." Link replied, though he still seemed grim, "But the sage of forest might be here, and if she is, I'd burn her as well. I'm not willing to do that just to protect us."

The captain quickly nodded in response to that. He understood what Link was trying to say. The sage of forest was just as important to their cause as they were. They'd simply have to find another way to overcome that hurtle.

* * *

"Wait here for a moment." Link remarked quickly, and dove forward into the underbrush with his sword drawn. At once, thorns erupted from branches, vines shot out from trees, and the leaves of bushes sharpened into razors. Link's swordsmanship skills were put once again through their paces as he darted back and forth, slicing stems off of plants, petals off flowers, and vines from their connecting roots. Still, it wasn't enough. Something, somewhere was continuing to supply those hostile plants with aided magic, and unless he could find out what and where it was, that whole battle was ultimately useless.

As quickly as he could, Link tried to focus his mind, to sense the flow of the magic around him. Sure enough, the magic nearby flared up whenever he attacked the plants surrounding him, and for over sixty seconds, he still had no idea what was causing it, but as he struggled to trace the magic back to its origin point, he realized something that made him shiver all over; it was coming directly from the captain.

For a moment, Link considered the possibility that, in fact, the captain might be responsible for that strange sorcery, but he shook it off just as quickly. Whatever the captain's personal feelings about Link were, he wouldn't do anything to endanger the mission, and besides, the captain wasn't capable of high-level plant magic like that. Even so, the magic was plainly coming from his direction, which presented Link with a very worrying mystery.

* * *

The moment that he could break away from the fight, Link leapt towards the captain and looked him over carefully, not saying a word. Naturally, the captain was a little worried by that behavior. Link had a look in his eyes like a panther ready to strike, and for a moment, he thought that he was in danger from the Hero of Time, but then, in one swift motion, Link yanked off the captain's shirt and grabbed a small bug, as it tried to fly away unnoticed from underneath the green tunic. In a moment, the bug was dead, and the behavior of the plant life returned to normal.

"What was that?" the captain asked, suddenly feeling too stunned and confused to worry about asking for his tunic back.

"The source of our problems." Link replied, showing him the dead insect in his hand, "This creature was broadcasting vast waves of hostile plant-based magic towards us. It wasn't very big, or physically, very powerful, but it did try to turn us against one another. I have a feeling Ganondorf sent it."

Then, suddenly, there was a deep voice, which seemed to usher forth from all the plant life on the isle; a strange, unearthly vibration, which filled the air and formed into words, almost as an afterthought.

"Close enough, intruders."

Suddenly, both Links turned to look towards the lush plant life, because both suspected that the owner of the voice would appear from that direction, and they weren't disappointed. From the very earth at the base of the small jungle, fingers began to emerge, then palms and wrists followed them shortly, as though part of the ground were separating itself from the rest. In about ten seconds, arms, a chest and a face had followed, and the creature that appeared before them began yanking its legs out of the earth, one by one.

It was a hideous thing; more than anything that either of them had ever encountered. Though roughly humanoid in size and shape, its entire body seemed incomplete, as though midway into decomposition, like a redead, but unlike a redead, a horrible intelligence gleamed in its eyes, and hundreds of tiny insects, like the sort that Link had just killed seemed to swarm around and through the thing that stood before them. It was a sight that was terrifying, disgusting and horrible.

"He sent me," the creature said aloud, as it rose effortlessly to its incomplete-looking feet, "and I sent it."

At once, a thousand tiny bugs, each radiating a horrifying degree of dark plant magic, swept forth from the creature's body, causing thorns to erupt from the ground at the feet of the two hylians. Link and the captain both leapt back just in time to avoid the deadly points of the thorns, but even Link seemed to be getting desperate by that point, as though he couldn't figure out how to beat an enemy like that without burning the forest down.

Meanwhile, the captain's mind was also racing. He knew that somewhere deep inside of his body lay the power to vanquish that foe, but he didn't know how to reach it.

By the time Link and the captain landed, thorny vines and flowers spraying poisonous powders had nearly surrounded them. Link's body began to glow blue, as he cast his spell of protection, and he could only hope that the captain could take care of himself for the moment. Link couldn't defeat that foe and simultaneously protect someone else, after all, no matter how much he cared about his new partner.

The captain hadn't activated his magic armor, however. In fact, he hadn't done a thing. As a sturdy vine approached him, and struck him in the gut with razor-sharp thorns, he could feel the dark intent all around him, radiating from the insectoid servants of his new foe, and those intents seemed to echo in his own brain, as though there was something about them that was natural; something that was like home.

"Kill. Destroy. Hate. In the way. Must be destroyed."

The hate and rage of the captain's foes surrounded him, and he struck out more than once, trying to overcome them, but again and again, he was countered by the strong vines. His enemies swarmed around him, and he wanted them dead. He wanted those bugs and their master all dead and buried, and as he realized his own desire for those things, he gave one glance up, and what he saw changed the tide of battle for good.

There was Link; the Hero of Time, leaping from place to place, lashing out with his sword, plunging right through the poisonous assaults with no ill effect, and crushing bugs whenever he could, yet never getting even close to his foe. Still, he was holding his own, pressing forward against an enemy that continued to regenerate, and when the captain saw that, something changed in his thoughts.

All at once, the malice that he was sensing from all around him, and the malice that he himself was feeling became intermixed; almost indistinguishable, in fact. At that moment, he felt a fire well up from within him; a power that he'd nearly forgotten; a will that he'd tried to ignore.

The captain's hair stood on end, and his muscles all tensed into a horrifying stiffness. Then, he felt all his self doubts vanish in an instant, and he reached out to grab the thorny vine that had just smacked him with one determined hand.

The thorns on the vine must have stung as they forced their way into the captain's palm, but he didn't even flinch. In fact, he clutched the lethal plant even tighter, and in a single, mighty motion, the plant was hurled out to sea, where the deadly waters killed it instantly. Then, with a roar of rage and hate, the captain plunged forward into the mass of green enemies; his darkest emotions driving him on and on, through the sharp thorns and leaves, and all the vines that attempted to grab him were broken by his strength almost at once. At last, with one final, herculean effort, the captain emerged from the green barrier near his foe, who seemed visibly afraid at last. It was a fear that was starting to satisfy him. The captain found himself relishing that fear, and it almost gave him pause as he grabbed the creature by the neck, and slammed it into the ground with a single, mighty, unarmed attack.

As the creature's muscles twitched, and its eyes bulged, the captain began to feel more and more self-conscious, however. What, he wondered, had he been doing? He'd wanted to defeat that monster, but in doing so, he'd surrendered control of his body to hate. He could tell that Link was standing behind him with his weapon still drawn, as ready to fight the captain as their mutual enemy; probably expecting him to turn on the Hero of Time in a berserker rage, and somewhere, deep down, he knew how justified that worry was. It brought a terrible sadness to his heart, and a tear to his eye, and he longed more than anything to escape from that sadness.

However, in that longing was a moment of weakness, and the hate regained control, once again causing the power of darkness to flare up within him, igniting his body and soul into a fire of misplaced rage. In no time, the captain swung around behind him at the source of his sadness; the person who looked at him and judged him from behind, and Link was swept back about half a dozen feet, as he parried the enraged blow with the flat of his blade.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Link asked, with something like contempt, once he'd regained his balance, "There's no one in the world who doesn't have a dark side, and everyone in the world has to fight constantly to ensure that dark side doesn't gain control. Most of our people are very strong, and win that fight easily, but for you, the temptation is much greater. Added to the fact that for most of your life, you've been running from your pain, you have a great deal to overcome. However, if you want to be someone that others can respect and admire, you have to work that much harder to overcome it. Yes; it hurts, and that hurt belongs to you. Accept it, confront it, and master it. Running from it only makes it worse."

Then, however, Link wouldn't say any more about it, because the captain was obviously already struggling. His realization of the truth of Link's words, and his desire to overcome his pain was fighting with the rage and hate in his heart, and his anger at having to be taught lessons again by that figure out of legend. However, at last, his hair and muscles began to loosen up, and he was completely in control of himself again, remembering carefully the words that Link had said to Ram not long before.

"I know that you're an unnatural form of life. I just don't care. If you can't control yourself in battle, you shouldn't be fighting; ever.""

The captain felt like weeping as he remembered those words. Clearly, he'd become just like Ram; possessed by a spirit of darkness, unable to control himself in battle, and weak at heart. He shouldn't, he thought to himself, have gone to that island at all. He should have stopped to try to practice a bit of self-control, once he'd first heard about the great shadow, but he hadn't. He hadn't thought things through, or planned them out nearly as well as he'd thought he had, and when he looked up into Link's eyes again, the hero merely nodded, as though he'd read the captain's most private thoughts.

"For now," Link said, though he still looked a bit wary of his ally, "it's enough that you're willing to recognize that. The rest will come later."

"Yes," they heard a man's voice from nearby, "that was very surprising."

At once, both of them turned towards the place where, moments before, their enemy had fallen, but he was gone. Link and the captain looked all around to try to locate him, but he didn't seem to be anywhere... Then, they looked up, and there he was, floating in mid-air with six enormous, fly-like wings extending from his back.

"Surprising, indeed." their enemy said, in a voice that was becoming very clear, "I wasn't expecting that kind of attack; not at all. Still, I'm afraid that the game is over now. Both of you are becoming bothersome, so I'll have to finish you off as quickly as I can."

Suddenly, as the two Links watched in horror, the flying creature's arms and legs seemed to erupt into armored plates and claws, and soon, its entire body had transformed into something resembling an enormous insect, with a very thin body. It was a huge, dark purple monstrosity, with six clawed appendages, and a series of razor-sharp horns along what looked like its head, though it was hard to tell. Most horrible of all, its claws seemed to glow with a blue aura of magic, and Link could tell that that aura wasn't merely intended to effect plants anymore.

"Incidentally," the creature said, sounding as if it were halfway between irritation and amusement, "I love hearing people scream my name when they die. It's Rechar, by the way, but somehow, you don't strike me as being the kind that'll oblige. Too bad."

"At any rate," Rechar continued, "No darts or arrows can penetrate my hide, and since neither of you can fly, I think I'll finish you off long-distance from the air."

* * *

Soon, Link felt a horrible, oppressive force covering his body. Somehow, the creature was radiating some kind of barrier, which was draining away his magic. What was worse, however, was that he could see Rechar's intent in doing that; it was to prevent either of them from teleporting away. They'd have to face him to the death that time; there wouldn't be an easy escape.

Quickly, Link looked over at the captain. He could see that where once the rage, hate and disgust had overwhelmed him, a spirit of determination was filling the captain's heart. The Hero of Time's own soul nearly leapt for joy to see that, because it was the same kind of spirit that had driven him to succeed against so many foes, in so many battles and struggles in the past. It was the same spirit that had forced he himself to continually improve his technique, skills and abilities; the start of a hero's spirit. Link could tell that the captain had identified the foe inside himself, as well as the foe outside, and was ready to challenge both, but of course, there was more to winning a fight than that.

"I need your help." Link said, causing the captain to give a start of surprise, and turn to look at him with amazement lining every feature. Link could practically see the sailor's thoughts and feelings, as he finally started to realize that he really was helpful to the Hero of Time.

"With those golden bracelets of yours," Link explained quickly, "you have all the strength you need to execute my plan."

Then, Link whispered his plan to the captain, so that their enemy couldn't hear, and the captain's eyes widened as he began to understand. At last, the two of them would work together, and they could finally be a team.

However, almost the very second that Link had finished describing the plan, he shoved the captain backwards, and leapt off to one side, as a blast of energy collided with their previous position. Rechar had fired it from one of his claws, and it had left charred marks in the soil.

"Don't let them hit you!" Link exclaimed, as he put his thumb on the hilt of his sword quickly.

It was an obvious tidbit of advice, but still easier said than done, because by that time, Rechar was flying back and forth across the island, firing blasts of energy from four of his eight arms, which hit the ground beneath them with the force of a collapsing house, and because of his great speed and accuracy in aiming those deadly weapons, the captain was having a very hard time dodging them. First, he rolled out of the way of the second blast, then had to cover his face to protect his eyes from the flying sand, while leaping back away from a third blast, in an attempt to regain his footing. When he finally had managed to get back into a standing position, the task of dodging the blasts became a little easier, but not much, as the powerful attacks still threatened, at any moment, to shake him off his feet. The energy was smashing trees and bushes as well, but fortunately, didn't seem to be setting the foliage on fire.

Link was ducking in and out of the flying blasts with little trouble at all, and was more than once able to get within a few feet of the captain, but not enough that they could execute their plan. Obviously, the captain would have to cross the rest of the distance himself, if they wanted to get close enough to one another.

* * *

In just a few seconds, the captain tightened up his muscles a bit, and began trying to anticipate the motions of his foe. For most of the time that creature had been firing on them, the captain had pretty much been on the defensive, forced into going left, right, forward or back by the blasts being leveled in his direction, but after studying his enemy's attack pattern for about sixty seconds, he began to practice the same method that Link was using, of ducking around or leaping over the oncoming blasts, giving him some freedom to choose which direction he'd travel in next.

It took him nearly two and a half minutes to master that, but when he did, the captain could see that Link had noticed, and was headed straight for him again. Quickly, he dashed towards Link, to intercept him and execute their plan.

Rechar, however, saw them getting close to one another, and fired another blast right in front of the captain. At the last second, he found his path blocked by a blast of energy, and he was traveling too fast to stop in time. Link was also traveling towards the blast, but he was further away. Somehow, the captain knew that he had to evade that attack, however. He could duck to the side easily enough, or try to perform a back-flip, but then he and Link would be as far from victory as ever, and they might not get another chance like that. At the last second, the captain made his decision, however, executing a powerful leap, which took him into the air, in Link's direction.

The captain could feel his jump carry him over the blast of energy, and for a moment, he felt that he might make a safe landing on the other side, but when the blast hit the ground behind him, it caused such a powerful shock wave, that the captain was flung forward into the air with the force of a hurricane. Then, as he continued to fly across the island, he felt Link's feet bracing themselves against his right hand, and in less than a second, he realized what he had to do. With no time to spare, the captain located his enemy, then pulled back, with the Hero of Time in one hand, and with the strength of his magic bracelets, he threw the legendary hero straight at their enemy.

* * *

Link hurtled through the air with the force of a cannonball, careening towards his airborne foe with both hands outstretched, as the captain landed on the beach behind him with a crash. Link had seen what had happened to his new friend, and he knew that that would be his only chance to hit Rechar. He could only hope that their mutual foe would be distracted by him, and wouldn't fire on the captain again, while he was down.

Unfortunately, however, Rechar had noticed Link all too well. At the very second that he seemed about to collide with the insect-creature, Rechar's wings started to flap faster, and he rose about a foot higher than Link's flight path, out of reach of the seasoned hero.

"No!" Link thought silently, but with great determination, "I can't miss! I won't miss! For the sage of the forest; for Hyrule; for everyone I've ever cared about! I can't let myself be beaten by a foot of distance!"

Then, in a motion too quick for Rechar to keep track of, Link was on top of him, and the two slammed into the ground. In a moment more, Link's sword drove itself into Rechar's back, and the fight was clearly over.

"But how..." Rechar gasped out, in obvious desperation and shock, "I... I dodged you!"

"You dodged my arms." Link replied grimly, though with a slight flinch of pain as he spoke, and that was when Rechar looked down at Link's left hand. It was bleeding horribly.

At once, a look of stunned understanding appeared on Rechar's insectoid features. Link had only needed an extra couple of feet to reach his leg, after all, and he'd gotten it by gripping the blade of his sword, then using its hilt as a claw to grab onto his foe's leg. Then, all he'd had to do was grab the flat of the blade with his other hand, and climb up onto his enemy's body. However, Rechar's momentary look of recognition faded after only a few moments, to be replaced by the blank, rapidly-tightening look of all dying creatures.

Link knew that he was losing a lot of blood, but it didn't really phase him. The plants of the island had stopped moving, returning to their harmless, non-aggressive state, and Link knew that that time, Rechar wouldn't be getting back up again, but the damage had already been done. Even if they found the sage of the forest, the captain might not survive.

At that moment, Link was still bleeding a great deal, but what worried him much more was the wellbeing of the captain, because the captain had lost consciousness from a mixture of pain and blood loss. His leap over that last blast had, it seemed, taken its toll, because his entire left foot was missing.

* * *

Naturally, Link's first course of action upon surveying the damage had been to tear his tunic in half and wrap it around the wounds that he and the captain had suffered during the fight, which was pretty effective at stopping the bleeding, but unless the wounds could be mended somehow, there was no guarantee that either of them would pull through. As soon as Link had done what he could to mend his wound, and that of his companion, he stood up straight and started off through the underbrush.

It was even more necessary than ever for him to find the sage of the forest, especially if she had some magic that could heal injuries. However, if Rechar hadn't killed the sage, then that probably meant that she was concealed somehow. Link knew that if he wanted to find her, he'd have to search very carefully, and given how bad the bleeding was, there might not be time.

Still, despite the burning pain in his arm, and the fact that a desire for sleep was creeping up on him like an unseen predator, Link forced his mind to clear, and focus on the task at hand. He looked around quickly and carefully, kicking more than one tree or bush to make certain they were real. At last, he came to a section of the forest, which seemed particularly lush, and nudged a small, round bush with his foot, to try to see underneath it, but it refused to move. Bending down, Link tried to pull the leaves aside one more time, only to discover that there were no leaves. Something unseen was there, but it wasn't a bush. It looked like a bush, but that was only the outer form it had taken, and Link knew at once that that was the work of the sage of forest.

Crouching down as best he could, using only one hand, Link grabbed the fake bush from one side, and suddenly, the illusion started to fade away, and the bush was gone. In its place was something that took the Hero of Time's breath away.

There sat a little girl with bright green hair, wearing a green dress done up with a belt. Her facial features were familiar enough that Link could have described them in his sleep, but her eyes no longer gleamed with wonder or joy. Instead, they were filled with a great, vast emptiness, which almost threatened to swallow up the happiness of those around her.

Worst of all, though; even worse than the terrible emptiness, was the fact that it came from a face that Link knew; the face of his beloved; the face of Saria. She was the one person in all of Hyrule who he'd ever seriously considered marrying, and yet, there she was; her body not having aged a day in the hundreds of years since she'd seen him last, and her soul seeming to have aged almost ten million years. It made Link feel like crying to see her that way.

"Saria!" Link exclaimed, grabbing her face in both hands, and forcing her to look him in the eye, though it was painful for him as well, "Saria, it's me! Saria, it's Link! I need your help."

However, nothing stirred within her, at first. It had been too long, and the pain wouldn't go away so easily. Link didn't have time to wait, though. Immediately, he grabbed her by her arms and shook her roughly, yelling her name again and again, and that time, he got a reaction. The girl before him swung her hand around, and slapped him across the face as hard as her small, child-like arm could.

The slap hadn't really hurt Link at all; at least not physically, but he could tell that it represented many hundreds of years of rage and disappointment, because she seemed to become more aware of her surroundings a moment later. Because of that, it made Link very sad. It felt as though she'd slapped him in the heart, rather than the face. The emotional pain was very real.

"Link?" Saria asked in a moment, just looking confused at first, "It can't be you! Zelda said you vanished..."

"Yes, I did." Link replied, tears in his eyes from the horrible emotions that he was being assaulted by, "This is where I ended up."

However, for some reason, it still didn't seem as if he was getting through to her, because horrible anger was spreading across her face again in moments, and soon, she started shouting at him, as if he were her worst enemy.

"No!" Saria exclaimed, looking halfway terrified, and half infuriated, "You go away and leave me alone! I've been tortured by you long enough."

Link had a horrible feeling that he knew what she meant by that, but for a moment, he dared to hope that he was wrong.

"I'm not leaving until you help me." Link insisted quickly, trying to get her attention again, "There's a boy on the beach who's bleeding to death, and unless you help him, he'll be dead within the hour."

For a moment, Saria seemed to consider it, but then, looking aggravated again, she remarked, "You and I..."

"To the underworld with you and I!" Link yelled, finally losing his temper, "There are bigger things to think about, like saving people's lives! I need your help! Will you help me or not?"

The sadness never lifted from Saria's features, but she seemed to have made up her mind, because she stood, a little shakily, and began to search for something in the bushes. Soon, she'd gathered a number of leaves and small berries, and was asking Link to pick some leaves off one of the smaller trees. If she'd been anyone else, in any other kind of situation, Link would have smiled at that, but there was just too much pain; both for Saria and for himself.

* * *

Once they'd returned to the beach, and Saria had seen the damage, she spent about thirty seconds crumbling and mixing the various ingredients she'd brought with her into the makeshift bandage that Link had made, and then moved her hands quickly over it, to mix the herbal remedy around.

"I don't have a way of restoring his foot." Saria said quickly, as she did her best to heal the young captain with her simple methods, "Still, this should stop the bleeding, and once that's done, he should be able to survive."

However, Saria got no response from her former fiancée, because by that point, Link had passed out on the sand from loss of blood.

As soon as Saria realized what had happened, which took a few seconds, a hundred thoughts, motivations and emotions ran through her head. Was the Hero of Time really there? Was he really dying? Did he really need her help? What about the pain that he'd caused her in the past; the hundreds of years she'd spent in emotional agony over what had happened to him?

In the end, none of that mattered. Saria grabbed the bandage around Link's hand, and poured more of her herbs into it, then began trying with all her might to heal him as well.

"I can't let him die." she realized silently to herself, as she struggled to heal her mortal beloved of the terrible wounds that he'd suffered, "I love him."

* * *

It was nearly midnight by the time Link woke up. There was still a sharp, stabbing pain in his left hand, but he could tell that it wasn't bleeding anymore, even before he got up to look at it. Link wasn't sure how, but Saria's herbs had done the trick, healing up his wound very effectively, and leaving only a single scar along his palm, which was a bit unsightly, but it could have been much worse.

"That scar might never vanish." came the voice of Saria from nearby, though Link couldn't see her at first, "But give your hand a few days to finish healing up, and you'll be able to use it like normal. That's about all my herbs can do for you right now."

"What about the captain?" Link asked worriedly, sure that Saria could hear him, though he still couldn't see her.

"Who? Oh, your friend. He's still asleep, but he could wake up any time. As I said, there's nothing I can do to give him his foot back, but honestly, the damage to the rest of his body wasn't any worse that yours; just a few bruises and some scrapes. Most of his leg muscles are alright, though it's hard to see how that could be. In fact, if you just attached a wooden foot to his leg, he'd probably even be able to walk again."

Link sighed at that point, however. He was relieved to hear that the captain would survive, but the loss he'd suffered would probably be devastating. Still, knowing that he'd pull through gave Link the reassurance that he'd needed to focus on the other thing that was important to him.

"Look, Saria." Link began sadly, "None of this happened the way I..."

However, before he could finish, Saria interrupted him, clearly not quite ready to give him the chance to explain.

"I've seen you a lot since the day you disappeared, Link." she said, though she didn't sound as sad as she had before he'd lost consciousness, "Zelda said you vanished, and every day, as Ganon was destroying our country, I expected you to come back to Hyrule and put an end to it. I think everyone did until almost the last minute; even Ganon himself. We all watched and waited for you to overcome whatever obstacle you'd been faced with, and save us all, just like you'd done before."

"Then, in those last few days, when the others petitioned the gods for help, I swear I opened my eyes in the morning, and there you were. You were wearing your kokiri tunic, and the hat I gave you as a baby, just like you always did, and you had your golden gauntlets on, and you had the Master Sword on your back with its two sheaths, and the mirror shield over that, and I could tell that you were just as ready to fight evil as ever. In spite of all that, though, you'd walk right up to me and ask me for my help. You said 'Saria, I need you to help me bring everything back to normal.' Then you'd reach out for me, and I'd reach back, and at the very moment when your hand touched mine, you were gone. I saw those visions, and I heard those words every single day for over a hundred years. It was only when I realized why, that the visions started to occur less and less."

"You were upset that I was gone." Link remarked softly, "Having me just not be there..."

"No." Saria replied, however, much to Link's surprise, "That wasn't it at all. From the moment I agreed to court you, I knew that that there'd come a time when you'd die, vanish, or just not be there. That idea never upset me. It was the fact that we never got to spend even a year together as a couple. I saw you as a part of my life that was unfinished, and it just haunted me. Up to the very time when you appeared before me just a few hours ago, I was still haunted by regret, and that was the reason."

Link opened his mouth for a moment, but he couldn't find anything to say. Saria was absolutely right. As an ageless kokiri, she knew she had to expect that everything in the world was temporary, except herself. If only they'd been able to spend some time together as a couple, she would at least have had memories of him to accompany her through the ages, but they'd never had the time they needed to make those memories.

"I want to be there for you." Link finally said, not sure what else to say "I want to make it right."

Saria didn't smile when he said that, but she did seem a little curious.

"Nothing can make it right now." she said at last, "Our home is gone, our forests segmented, and our memories of the past are all that's left for us, unless you have a way to change things that have already happened."

Just then, however, Link started to grin again, and at first, Saria just looked confused, but soon, he'd gotten to his feet, and begun to tell Saria what had happened to him over the past several days. Only a few minutes into his story, however, Saria's eyes and mouth opened wide in shock, as well as something that seemed like it might be hope.

"So," he said, after finishing his tale, "I know you may hate me for what I let happen to you. I know you might be angry at me for all the pain you felt, but please, help me out. I need your power to help me save these people."

Then, he reached out his scarred hand to hers, and after only a moment of self-doubt, she grasped it lightly in her own small fingers.

"Yes, Link, yes!" Saria exclaimed, still with a sad look in her eyes, although she seemed very enthusiastic as well, "I could never refuse you!"

Then, Saria broke down and sobbed again. The feeling of his hand on hers, it seemed, had removed every last shred of doubt that had been left inside of her. He was really there with her, and from that point on, she wouldn't need to miss him anymore.

However, Saria's sobs didn't do anything to drown out the screams from a few yards away. The captain, it seemed, had woken up, and had probably seen his leg. Quickly, Link rushed over to him, to find him looking pale and worried, as he stared down at his missing foot.

"We beat him." Link said to the captain quickly, trying to calm him down as the young sailor just kept staring at the place where his foot had been, "We beat that bug. Don't worry about him."

"My foot." The captain exclaimed in a haze of confusion, though the pain didn't seem to have affected him in the normal way, "What happened to my foot?"

"The energy blast must have clipped you in the leg." Link replied with genuine sympathy, "Your whole foot was gone when the battle ended."

"This is terrible!" The captain exclaimed, though, for some reason, he didn't really seem as upset as Link had been expecting him to be, "Even if we manage to rescue Tetra now, how will I face her like this?"

"You'll face her as a bold hero, who made a sacrifice when it was needed." Link replied, however, causing the captain to give another start of surprise. Still, Link could hardly blame him for feeling shocked. Their relationship, up to that point, had been more like a student and teacher than equals, and although the captain probably still had some things to learn, Link didn't feel the least bit bad, at that point, about admitting the truth. In their time apart, the captain had become a real man, and during that battle, when they'd fought their most recent enemy together, Link had seen the spark of a true hero in his friend; a hero who was willing to dive into self-sacrifice when victory and the safety of his friends were on the line; a hero who showed real love for others. That, Link knew, was a hero's most important trait, so there was no need to deny it any longer. Captain Link had become a true hero in his own right, even if he found those words surprising when they came from the mouth of the Hero of Time himself.

"Who's that girl?" The captain asked at last, after he'd recovered from his shock, and seemed to be trying to distract himself from the pain that his leg was in.

"Saria." Link replied, however, grinning a bit over how much and how fast the captain was still learning from his recent ordeals, "She's the sage of the forest."

The captain didn't even look surprised by that at all; he just nodded a bit, and got into a seated position as best he could, then spoke again, looking as if he was trying to ignore the pain of his injury.

"In that case, there's only one more sage left to find."

"Yes," Link replied, feeling encouraged by the captain's own courageous determination to finish the job they'd started out to do, "the sage of time, and he or she might be very nearby."

"So when do we leave?" the captain asked eagerly, but of course, Link knew that he couldn't allow that, and immediately started shaking his head.

"I'm sorry." Link said, "But you're staying right here for now. You're in no condition to may the trip, and if we ran into trouble over there, you wouldn't be able to help me fight it."

"But I was helpful in that last fight!" The captain exclaimed, as he leaned forward towards Link, "How would you fight another enemy like that without backup?"

"Well, the truth is," Link replied, "I don't expect to go into battle, and even if I did need backup, you're not really capable of providing it in your condition."

The captain grimaced, and looked like he was about to object again, but he must have known that Link was right. If he was being considered a hero, then the best course would be for him to wait for his injury to heal, until he could find some way to be useful again. At last, the captain nodded and lay back in the sand, obviously trying to think.

"If it means anything, I'll be looking for a way to help you get your mobility back." Link said, hoping that wouldn't encourage the captain to cheer up a little, but to his surprise, the captain just replied with, "Eh, it's alright. It was worth it to be part of the team."

* * *

"I'm worried about him." Saria remarked, almost as soon as she and Link were out of earshot of the captain.

"You said it yourself." Link replied, "Just make him a wooden foot and he'll be fine. That shouldn't take more than a day, right?"

Saria sighed, however, looking almost annoyed by Link's response.

"Yes," she admitted, "if he decides to accept my help, he'll be walking again in no time, but that's not what I meant."

Link was puzzled by that point, however. For some reason, Saria seemed to have seen something in the captain that Link couldn't.

"I told you he was in good condition when I found him," Saria continued sadly, "and physically, that's true, but right now, his soul is in more turmoil than anyone from Hyrule ever went through, and I'm afraid that a lot of his anger is focused on you."

"Do you think he blames me for the loss of his foot?" Link asked, his worry starting to grow as he listened to his fiancée's concerns. However, she quickly put those fears to rest.

"No." Saria replied, "Not really. I think he blames himself more for that, but what scares me worst of all is that his feelings about you are so strong, they don't seem to have been altered by the loss of his foot at all. Most people who lose a foot would completely re-evaluate every emotion and every aspect of their lives, but his mental state seems perfectly focused in its turmoil. I can't explain it, but there's a huge craving in his heart, and I think he feels like you're getting between him and it."

"Thanks for the warning." Link replied with a frown, though he wasn't really sure what to make of that news at first, "I'll have to think about that."

Link was still contemplating that very carefully, but he was also making plans for the future, and those plans were what he decided to bring up next with Saria.

"I'm going to try to rescue the sage of time, and bring him or her here. Then, if everything goes well, we'll all return to my friend's ship."

Saria just nodded in silence, though. From what she'd seen, she didn't think that Link should be calling the captain his friend too readily, but she knew that it was the Hero of Time's nature to try to see the best in people, and she wouldn't have changed that for the world.

A few minutes later, as Saria watched in longing, Link stepped out towards the beach, and vanished in a ball of fire, and although the fire frightened her somewhat, she would have been willing to brave it, just for the chance to see Link again.

* * *

The isle where the time sage was suspected to live was many miles away, but Link was there in under a minute, and was pleased to find no visible monsters waiting for him. Still, he was on his guard as he stepped forth from the flames, even as they dissipated, and planted his feet on the sand of the island. It wasn't a very big island; only about a dozen yards across at best, and there seemed to be no vegetation, or really, any life at all. There was only one very large boulder in the center of the island, on one side of which was a set of stairs, leading down into an underground area. Link frowned, however as he looked the place over. Certainly, the sage of time would have wanted shelter like that, but in an enclosed area of that type, it'd be harder to defend himself from attack. Still, Link had faced much worse problems before, so taking a deep breath, he started down the stone staircase, and began his descent into the darkness.


	25. Pt3 Ch8 Barrier

Chapter 8: Barrier

* * *

The walls of the underground chamber that Link found himself in were made from a type of hard stone, which seemed to react something like metal when struck, but felt rough to the touch, like regular stone. That strange material remained the same, as Link proceeded through a single hallway into a large room full of stairs. All that way, the floor was covered in sand, and as the stairs continued downward, the sand on the floor seemed to thin out, so Link grabbed a fist full of it. He suspected that there might be some traps nearby, and if so, the sand might help to reveal them. Swiftly, he tossed a few grains of sand back and forth across the room, and when he was satisfied, he proceeded down the stairs, continuing to use the sand to feel out the layout of the room. However, as he continued through the next hallway, he noticed something odd. One of the sand grains that he'd thrown had disappeared from the air. Quickly, he grabbed a piece of broken rock from the floor at his feet, and threw it at the very spot where the sand grain had been before. When it hit that spot, the rock vanished too, reappearing at once on the floor a few yards away.

"I see." Link muttered to himself, fascinated by what had just happened in front of him, "A spell of accelerated time. If I go through there, I could have a heart attack, or one of my organs could be aged beyond the others, but how far does this spell extend?"

At once, Link began throwing sand grains again. There was definitely an invisible bubble of accelerated time in the air in front of him; probably created by the spell of a very powerful creature. It was about two feet across, and was sticking out of the wall to the left. Link was able to determine that by where the sand grains experienced the accelerated time effect, and where they continued like normal. Armed with that knowledge, he was able to avoid the bubble by clinging to the right-hand wall.

The next odd thing that Link found was a bubble of slowed time. He discovered it because the sand grains he was throwing seemed to stop in mid-air, as soon as they entered the effected area. That was easier to chart, because the frozen sand grains outlined the contours of the bubble pretty well when they were thrown, but that could probably have killed him if he'd entered it too, and that one covered most of the hallway, leaving only a few feet on the ground in normal time. He was eventually able to crawl under it, however, and proceed into the next room.

The next room was an incredible sight, however. All of the walls, and the floor and ceiling were made of metal, and the walls seemed to have panels on them, designed to be opened and closed. In the center of the room was a kind of metal lever attached to a pedestal on the floor. On the pedestal, however, were written some words, in hylian.

"Be quick of wit, quick of foot, quick of mind and eye. Within this chamber, kill no time, or else, your time may die. Let your past, your present, and your future work as one, or by the endlessness of time itself, you'll find yourself undone."

"A grim warning," Link thought to himself, as he examined his surroundings a bit more carefully. On the far wall, across from the hallway that Link had entered by were what seemed to be a series of clocks, with their three hands each in different positions. From left to right, the first clock had an inscription under it in hylian, which read "things done." The second had a similar label, reading "things being done." The last had a label reading "things postponed."

Link knew what the labeled were meant to signify at once; the actions of his past, present and future. Somehow, that puzzle revolved around the significance of the clocks, and his own actions at three different times.

Contemplating the puzzle, Link walked up to the first clock; the one labeled "things done," and examined it, feeling the hands on the clock with his own hands. They didn't move by any mechanism that he could see, but they could, he discovered, be moved manually. That, then, must have been part of the puzzle; a combination lock of some kind, perhaps; with three different combinations to be entered. However, if it was really that easy, he thought, then why the emphasis on time?

Again, Link found his attention returning to the lever in the center of the room. Somehow, he knew that it factored into the puzzle as well, and its dire warning about being swift of mind and eye... Obviously, it was the key to that puzzle. There were no other apparent doors out of that room. Link knew that if he wanted to progress further into that place, then, he needed to solve the puzzle somehow, and if he wanted to solve it, then he needed to pull that lever, no matter how much danger it would put him in.

So, with only a moment's hesitation, Link reached out and grabbed the lever in both hands, and was a bit startled by how cool and smooth it was to the touch, as he pulled it into position.

Suddenly, a wall of stone came down over the entrance that Link had come in by, sealing him in, and the panels on the walls to each side of the room opened as one, to reveal a glowing blue aura of magical energy, which started seeping into the room. Somehow, an automated spell was being cast on that room, and Link soon discovered a part of its effects, as he turned to look at the clocks, and discovered that standing before the second and third clocks were two people who looked exactly like himself, and both were staring at him in amazement!

"Quickly!" the one in front of the second clock yelled to him, "Get to the first clock and move the hands!"

That time, Link began to understand a part of his predicament. Those were images of himself at different points in time. Each might even be him at a different time. He'd have to play his part if he wanted to proceed, so he rushed to the first clock and grabbed its hands. However, something else had changed, because all the clocks were moving as if a mechanism had activated them. The clock hands could still be set manually; they were just continuing to tick off time once that had been done.

Feeling totally lost, Link yelled to the other two over the din of the many mechanisms that had just turned on in the room, "What time should I set it to?"

"I don't know!" the Link in the center yelled back, then turning to the last, yelled, "You've been at this the longest! What time should we set them to?"

"Let's all try setting them to the same time! Eight hundred hours!" he replied, loud enough so that both could hear. At once, all three did that, but nothing happened.

"It didn't work!" Link exclaimed, but suddenly, he looked over at the Link in front of the third clock, and watched in horror as a great, black void appeared behind him, and he was swept into it, helpless as it swallowed him whole. Just a moment later, however, something had changed. Link was in front of the center clock, and the Link who'd been in front of the center clock was standing before the last. Furthermore, another Link had appeared behind the lever in the center of the room.

"Quickly!" the Links in front of the last two clocks yelled, "Get to the first clock and move the hands!"

The new Link seemed a bit disoriented, but he moved quickly, and was soon standing in front of the first clock.

"What time should I set it to?" he yelled to them when he was in position.

"Setting it to the same time didn't work," the last Link yelled, "But I think I know why. There are three of us to represent past, present and future, and the time on the clock has to be the same for all three times."

Then, turning to the middle Link, the last Link asked, "Do you remember how long I was in front of the middle clock?"

"Not precisely." Link replied from the middle clock, "Something like two hundred and twenty two seconds."

"Time it." The last Link replied with disappointment, "It's been one hundred and two seconds since I moved to this position. When you get to this position, memorize how long it took. Tell your past self to set the time to eight hundred, your present self to set their time to eight hundred plus however long the time shift takes, and add another time shift time to that yourself. I'm done for, but you're the Link that'll really make the difference."

As he said that, another time shift occurred, and the last Link was swallowed up by the black void again. Then, Link found himself in the last position, with another Link next to him at the second clock, and another new Link appearing behind the lever at the center of the room.

"Quickly!" the Links in front of the last two clocks yelled, "Get to the first clock and move the hands!"

The new Link seemed a bit disoriented, but moved quickly, and was soon standing in front of the first clock.

"What time should I set it to?" he yelled to them when he was in position.

That time, however, Link was ready.

"The one in front of the first clock has to set it to eight hundred hours. The one in front of the second should set it to eight hundred hours, three minutes and forty-two seconds. Leave the rest to me."

So, with a fresh purpose in their minds, the three Links arranged the hands of the clocks just so, and at once, Link heard a massive, gong-like sound from the ceiling of the room, and the entire wall in front of them slid up into the ceiling, as the panels on the walls closed with a clang. Then, as quickly as they could, the three Links leapt forward...

Suddenly Link was alone again, in a hallway with a big, iron door at the end. The entire room that had housed the time puzzle seemed to have vanished, as though it had been moved completely out of his time continuum, and Link was very relieved by that. He'd had more than enough of time locks and puzzles for one day.

* * *

Most people would have spent hours trying to get over what had just happened. After all, it wasn't every day that a person narrowly escaped a temporal incongruity, and Link's head was spinning from the very fact of having had to think about time as he knew it so differently. Still, he had a job to do, and as far as he knew, time was of the essence.

Nevertheless, Link hardly felt up to his full strength, and he'd hoped not to be faced with any more puzzles or foes until after he'd had some time to rest. Because of that, the sight that greeted him when he entered the last room of the time dungeon was less than a welcome one.

The room was circular in shape, and made completely from what seemed to be sheet metal. At the very center of it was a beautiful woman with a royal air around her, dressed in a magnificent gown, which was obviously a relic of ages past. Both of her eyes were open, and she seemed to be staring directly at Link, but she didn't look as if she was able to move a muscle. Her entire body was completely still, and as Link noticed that, he realized that she would have seemed to be staring at anyone who stepped through that door. However, it wasn't her that struck fear into Link's heart, because there were two others in the room with her. One was what seemed to be a man, but instead of skin, the surface of his body seemed to be made of a cloth-like substance, with swirls of color and texture pulsing back and forth across it. The other was a person who Link had plenty of reason to be concerned about. He was a red-haired man, dressed in black robes, with pitch black armor underneath them.

"My powers aren't sufficient to draw her out of it directly." the man with the mesmerizing skin said, "But as far as I can tell, she's moved herself into a position halfway between our time continuum and the next. In other words, we can see her, frozen in time, but we can't touch her, or affect her in any way."

"That may work to our advantage." Ganon replied with a mere, satisfied nod, "All I need from you is to make certain that he doesn't aquire the..."

Then, Ganon's eyes turned to the room's entrance, and his fiery gaze stared into Link's soul. The Hero of Time felt more than a little vulnerable under the gaze of the king of evil, because he knew what would happen next.

Or rather, he thought he knew. He'd expected Ganondorf to retreat via teleportation, ordering his servant to kill Link, but something had changed in Ganondorf's soul since their last encounter, because instead of trying to destroy his ancient enemy, Ganondorf stretched out his hand behind him, positioning it inside the chest of the woman, and Link watched in surprise as it passed through her, as if she were merely an illusion.

"Our game is finished, Hero of Time." Ganondorf said calmly, "I can't rouse the sage of time from her self-imposed sleep, and neither can you. So, I suggest that you step into this chamber, where we can have a little talk."

Link's eyes darted back and forth from Ganondorf to his servant, and back to him again at first. If he'd had his old arsenal, he might have felt better about engaging them in battle, but even then, both of them at once would have been a risky gamble. For the moment, he decided not to throw the first blow.

Slowly, Link inched into the chamber, and flinched at the sound of the door slamming shut behind him, but it really didn't change much about his situation. He hadn't seriously considered the idea of escaping anyway.

"What's your angle, Ganondorf?" Link asked, as he walked a bit closer to the two, praying for his courage not to fail him, "The last time we met, you absolutely refused to talk. You seemed to think it was your sworn duty to bring the world to an end."

"Indeed." Ganondorf replied with a calm smile, however, "Those were my sentiments, at the time. I think that some part of that dangerous desire still lingers in my heart, but there are other things, which I want even more."

As Ganondorf said that, there were three bursts of flame very nearby, and Link soon found that three chairs had appeared in their place. Ganondorf grabbed one of the chairs and sat almost at once. His servant, however, and of course, Link himself, seemed to prefer standing.

"I confess, Hero of Time." Ganon began, looking contemplative, almost to the point of wistfulness, "I was most surprised to find you here; even more surprised, once I learned about your intentions. The fact that you continued to struggle on, even after the destruction of the time guard puzzled me enormously, and it nagged at the back of my mind during our last encounter. You're not an irrational man, Hero of Time. You know you can't save these people. What are you trying to accomplish?"

For a few moments, Link said nothing, but just when it seemed as though Ganondorf was about to lose interest and give up on him completely, Link asked, "Why listen to me now?"

"Don't play the idiot with me, Hero of Time." Ganondorf rebuked him, "I ask now, because I realize that you're not a threat to me. To one like you, I'd think that would be perfectly obvious."

Link nodded, however, trying to stop himself from worrying. It was obvious, but the question hadn't been an attempt at faking stupidity, as Ganondorf had suspected. In fact, it had accomplished its purpose quite well. It had proven to Link that Ganondorf's wits had, if anything, sharpened with age. His ability to recognize when Link was faking proved that. That was when he knew that he'd have to be very careful around that man.

Quickly, Link shuffled through his options in his head. He could always try to run, but Ganondorf would probably just be there when he got back. He could say nothing, of course, but it was already becoming plain that if he tried to lie to Ganondorf, the king of thieves would see right through it. Besides, too many of Ganondorf's life decisions had been based on poorly-founded assumptions and misinformation. As dangerous as it was, Link had to hope that for once, the truth could set the king of evil free.

"Alright." Link said at last, "It's against my better judgment, but here's the truth. When we left the isle of the time guard, I learned from the time guard itself, that there were seven in the great sea who held the secret to repairing it."

"And all this time, you've been able to convince the people of Isle Prime that you were their savior?" Ganondorf asked, with something that seemed half like scorn, and half like admiration, "Very slick of you, Hero of Time. They won't be expecting a thing. Unless, of course, you planned on informing them of your impending betrayal beforehand."

Link's face contorted at once, however, into an expression of distain, as he spat out, "I don't see it as betrayal. I see it as salvation; salvation for all of them; even you!"

"Salvation for me, eh?" Ganondorf replied, with a clear smirk on his face, "Well, I suppose now, you expect me to help you with your plan, considering how it's better for either of us than this drenched, dismal eventuality. Don't be such a fool."

At that moment, every muscle in Link's body tightened, as he prepared for an attack, but Ganondorf, it seemed, had noticed that, and smiled in genuine-looking amusement at that point, saying "I said, don't be a fool. That means try to understand my position."

When Ganondorf had said that, however, Link actually did consider his position, and all at once, he knew with absolute certainty that Ganondorf wouldn't attack him; not yet.

"I'm leaving this island, and I'm taking G'nigh with me," Ganondorf said, motioning to his servant as he got to his feet, "If you can restore the sage of time to consciousness, you have my blessing in doing so."

"You're hoping I'll fix the time guard." Link noted aloud, eager to get everything out in the open, "Because then, you'll try to claim it for yourself; rewrite history, so that you can take over Hyrule."

Ganondorf just gave Link a short nod, as the three chairs vanished from the room in more bursts of flame.

"I thought I'd give you fair warning, Hero of Time." Ganondorf continued with a confident smile, "G'nigh is more powerful than you are, and there are others in his class and stronger, who are just as loyal to me; over half a dozen, in fact. I hold absolute power over their lives, and don't think we won't attack you all at once if it'll win us this prize. I'm subsidizing your quest to save your people, and trumping your search for salvation. From this moment on, Hero of Time, you should know that I'm the only one who'll reap the rewards, or lack thereof, of whatever you and your little band attempt. This plan of mine is an unbreakable barrier that prevents you from undermining my will. That having been said, good luck."

Then, Ganondorf folded his arms, and so did his companion. G'nigh just smiled at Link as he did so, but Ganondorf truly laughed. He laughed long and loud. He laughed in the closest thing to joy that Link had ever seen on the face of the king of thieves, and when, moments later, he and G'nigh vanished in bursts of flame, his laughter continued to echo off the walls of the chamber, penetrating Link's very being with hopelessness and despair.

"No!" Link shouted, mostly to drown out the noise of that laughter, "No! It can't be!"

Link was horrified by what he'd just heard. It was true; Ganondorf's plan did seem unshakable. If he and his servants were really as strong as he claimed, there was no way that he could complete his mission anymore, even with the help of all seven sages. Ganondorf really had built an unbreakable barrier of force, information, and ingenious planning. How, he wondered, could he press on through that? How could he save his people at that point?

"What am I supposed to do?" he thought aloud, but there was no answer; neither from the chamber itself, nor the frozen sage of time. They didn't have any answer to give.

* * *

Less than an hour later, Link reappeared on the beach of the forested isle, and there, he found Saria and the captain both awaiting his arrival. He looked as if he'd lost track of time, though, because he was clearly surprised that the captain already had a wooden foot attached to the bottom of his leg, and had finished the process of learning how to walk on it.

"Did you find her?" Saria asked, looking a bit hopeful, though she could see that Link had returned alone.

"Yes." Link replied sadly, however, "I found the sage of time. She's frozen herself in a type of time-stasis somehow. It's going to take powerful magic to free her."

The captain looked disappointed that they'd failed to rescue the seventh sage, and so did Saria, at first, but the sage of forest noticed something else. There was a great despair lining Link's words, which threatened to very nearly consume them all. Saria didn't know what he'd faced on the isle of time, but she could tell that she had to do something to try to cheer Link up, or his worry alone might cause them to fail.

"I wish there was a wind tonight." she muttered sadly.

However, the moment that he heard that, the captain began to cheer up, looking pleased to be able to be useful again, and said, "I can make the wind blow. Why? Do you think it'll help our mission?"

Saria was pleasantly surprised to hear that, however, and she smiled as she replied, "Definitely. If it's not too much trouble, I'd like a wind from the west, please."

The captain, however, just grinned as he pulled out the Wind Waker; the magical instrument used by the King of Hyrule to conduct musical symphonies at one time, and he began to play a musical spell with it. At once, a powerful wind rose up from the west, and Saria clapped her hands in delight at the amazing miracle that the captain had just performed.

"Good! Good!" she exclaimed with a great, big grin.

"So, when should we leave?" the captain asked, sounding eager, but not impatient, "It's not going to be easy, but I think I'm ready to keep going."

"Maybe," Link replied, although he still looked badly depressed, "but I'm not. I think we should wait until tomorrow. I have a lot of thinking to do."

Under normal circumstances, the captain might have questioned that, but he was still too concerned with the state of his foot to be bothered too much by it, so he simply nodded, and stepped back into the woods.

Saria, in turn, walked off into a different area of the woods, and began picking a few seeds out of fruits and nuts. She had a plan for the best medicine of all for Link, and she could only hope that it would work.

* * *

After a few minutes of rushing back and forth along the beach, planting the seeds she'd gathered, Saria turned and ran towards Link again, who was sitting in the sand, deep in thought, and obviously very depressed.

"Hey, Link!" Saria exclaimed, waving both hands to get his attention. Once she was no more than a couple of feet away from him, though, she stuck out one hand to him and giggled happily.

"Okay," she thought to herself, "time to make magic."

At once, her own natural magical aura as both a kokiri and the sage of the forest began dispensing its power onto their surroundings, shaping the seeds she'd planted into a form designed to harness the wind's power to a definite end.

* * *

Link gasped in surprise as a beautiful, harmonious woodwind music filled the entire island. It was slow music, but loud enough to be heard over the wind itself, and there was Saria, standing right in front of him; obviously the cause.

"How are you doing this?" Link asked curiously, his depression nearly forgotten.

"I don't want to tell you." Saria replied, however, with the same, whimsical expression as before, "It makes it less magical."

Of course, even if Link had known about the reeds that she'd grown in the forest, designed specifically to make different notes when wind was blown through them, and being moved back and forth by her power into a beautiful harmony, he probably wouldn't have found it any less magical. His true love was standing before him, just like she had all those years ago, with the music of the woods echoing through their surroundings, and that was the most magical thing of all.

"Shall we dance?" Saria asked, waving the hand that she'd extended towards him back and forth a bit.

At first, Link smiled, but he still seemed a bit depressed, as he got to his feet, towering over the young girl.

"I don't know if that's possible." Link said, closing both eyes, for fear of Saria's reaction, "I'm a little taller than you are now. It might be tough to dance to this music."

However, when Link opened his eyes again, there was Saria's face, gazing into them. She was standing there, at his eye level, held up by two thick, strong vines, which she'd conjured from the ground at her feet.

"I have that covered too." she explained with a great, big grin, and Link immediately hugged her in a burst of emotion, nearly catching her off balance.

"Thank you." he finally murmured to her, as he held her in his arms, "You did all this for me, didn't you?"

"I did it for us." Saria replied, however, "Now, do you want to dance or not?"

"But how?"

"Just trust me."

By then, Link was genuinely smiling again, his depression completely forgotten. He trusted Saria with all his heart, and soon, they were waltzing back and forth along the beach, spinning around, taking turns at leading, and so forth. Every time that Saria took a step, one of the vines that held her up vanished into the ground, and another appeared to support her. Then, when they spun around, both vanished as she trusted herself in Link's strong arms, and new vines appeared to catch her when he let go. Even though she was only the size of a child, and Link wasn't exactly the world's best dancer, the dance itself was poetry in motion.

That dance seemed to carry Link back to a time long ago; the last time that he and Saria had danced. He'd been nine years old, and Mido and some of his friends had been playing music of their own. It was one of the many nighttime dance meetings that the kokiri had, and although those dances usually took the form of swift, light-hearted jigs, one of Mido's friends had decided to start playing a slower tune, and soon, the others had joined in. The minute that Saria had decided she wanted to dance with Link, Mido had refused to keep playing, but all of the others had continued. That was the night when Saria taught Link what little he knew of dancing.

They'd never danced again after that; not just because of Mido's reaction, though Link would have used that as an excuse, if pressured, but because as much as they both enjoyed it, Link didn't think it had much practical purpose.

"Guess I showed you." Saria remarked snidely, as the music ended, and the vines lowered her to the ground, and then vanished again.

Link smiled as he pondered that, however. Saria had been right all along, he realized. The immortal kokiri knew the value of having fun, but Link had never suspected that those same values were just as important to mortal beings like himself; especially in times of stress. He had to admit that she'd been right all along.

"I should never have doubted you." Link replied quietly into his beloved's ear, "You're right. I'm feeling much better."

In fact, Link was feeling better than he had in weeks. For too long, even before coming to that time period, Link had occupied himself with worries and concerns. He'd spent so much time questioning himself and the world around him, and dwelling on the problems in his life, that being with someone he cared about for a few minutes to just dance and forget it all had been like coming up for air after walking around underwater for hours. His whole body felt alive again. His mind felt like it had been cleaned. Everything was much, much clearer.

However, it wasn't long before Link once again found a stray thought drifting towards the barrier that Ganondorf had put in his path, and with that single, simple thought, he realized something that he hadn't considered before.

Ever since coming to that time period, Link had felt incomplete; as if he were only half there. For a while, he'd thought that it was merely because he missed his friends and his kingdom, but just then, he'd begun to realize the real reason for those feelings. He felt like only half of him was there because it was true. Only half of him was there. The unity which he'd experienced for over a year was gone, and that was when Link knew that he had to find his other half.

"Saria," Link said, his expression taking on a sort of direction as he spoke to her, "Thank you. You did a lot more than just cheer me up tonight. I know what I have to do now."

Saria just nodded with a smile, however, as she replied, "What else are close relationships for? Does this mean we'll be leaving tonight?"

Link paused to think about that for a moment, but finally, he decided against it.

"No. We'll wait until tomorrow. I learned some information today that extends our timetable quite a bit."

* * *

On the following morning, everyone clearly had a lot to do. As always with the mornings in the Great Sea, the sky was a bright pink, and by the first ray of that morning light, Link was on his feet, getting an early start on some morning exercises, as he waited for the others to wake up. His left hand was almost completely healed, except for the visible mark left by the scar, but he decided against using it in his morning exercises nonetheless. He'd give it another couple of days to regain its strength, before he tried to use it in any strenuous activity.

After about another hour, Saria was awake, and the Captain woke up about a half hour later than that. Pretty soon, they were all gathered on the beach, preparing for the difficult teleportation that awaited them.

"We're going to head back to your ship now." Link said to the captain with much greater confidence than he'd had on the night before, "Then, I'm going to leave you for a little while. There's a very special artifact that I'd like to track down, which I think might help us overcome the enemies we're facing."

"So, what am I supposed to do in the meantime?" the captain asked, sounding confused.

"In the meantime," Link replied, however, a fresh gleam coming into his eyes, "forget the search for the seven sages. You have things of your own to focus on. For example, you still have to confront Medli and Makar with the bad news, and there's also that young admiral friend of yours to rescue."

The Captain thought about that for a few moments. He didn't relish the task of breaking the news to Medli and Makar about the true origins of their powers, but he knew, deep down inside, that they'd have to find out sometime, and they might take the news better from a friend. As for rescuing Tetra, the captain knew that that was his job too, but for once, he was starting to think about it carefully, and decided that he wasn't really ready to go into battle for her sake or anyone else's, until the infection of darkness inside himself, and the others who'd survived the encounter on fire isle had been tamed. That would, he suspected, take a lot of training.

Link seemed to have noticed how carefully the captain was considering his future actions, though, and his smile only grew broader.

"You're ready now." Link said at last, "You're ready to confront evil inside and out. You're ready to go out into the world and teach it by example. Captain Link; you're ready to be a hero."

As the captain heard those words, his emotions flew off in a hundred different directions, but the ones he chose to express were the feelings of joy and happiness. However, at that point, Saria seemed worried about something again.

"Link," she muttered, clearly afraid, "Are you sure this is safe for me? If even one of those flames touches me, I'll be all burnt up."

It was the captain, however, who replied to her concern, saying, "I've come through it without any burns. It's perfectly safe."

Link nodded his agreement with those sentiments just a moment later, so, although she was still a little worried, Saria grabbed Link's right leg, and closed her eyes tightly to prepare for teleportation. The captain, in turn, put his hand on the Hero of Time's left shoulder, and Link put his right hand gently on Saria's head, so that they were as ready as possible. In moments, the flames rose up, and Saria was too terrified to open her eyes for the entire journey across the Great Sea.


	26. Pt3 Ch9 Bad News

Chapter 9: Bad News

* * *

As it turned out, the captain's ship had, in his absence, found the cylindrical device that Link had instructed them to, and had anchored it to the side of the ship with strong cables to keep it from floating away. Link was pleased that they'd done that, but for some reason, showed little additional interest in the craft, aside from letting the ship's crew know that they shouldn't release it under any circumstances.

Link had left the captain's ship to continue his own quest with hardly a word to anyone else other than that, as an obvious indication that the captain should be the one to explain the rest of the problems they faced. That didn't surprise or upset him much, though. In some ways, in fact, he was glad Link had left that task to him. After all, Link wasn't infected with the darkness of existence, so he might have a harder time explaining it, or maybe people just wouldn't trust him about it as much; another thought that made the captain feel a little uncomfortable. Being placed in a position of high trust over the Hero of Time himself didn't feel natural at all. Still, it was the captain's problem to address, and the captain's problem to help solve. That felt right.

What felt a little odd was that Link hadn't taken Saria with him, having left her on the ship with the other sages. The captain wasn't sure why that felt odd. After all, he wouldn't have taken her if he'd been in Link's place. It was just strange to be entrusted with the protection of someone else's fiancée, especially when that someone else was one of the greatest heroes of all time.

Still, that was the fate that he'd been given. He had things that he had to do, and he wasn't going to complain about what fate had sent his way. He was, the captain had decided, going to face his problems like a man. All that was left, then, was to determine which problems to face first.

Soon, however, he'd made his decision. He was going to start by facing his own problems, and to do that, he needed a little help, and a little room to be by himself, so at about noon that day, the captain asked Seram and Torou to accompany him on a longboat to the nearest island for a very secret mission, leaving Rei-Nu in command, while he was gone, and by evening, they returned to the ship in a very unusual state. The captain himself was exhausted, and all of his equipment was tied up in a bundle, instead of being in his pockets. Seram and Torou had a look in their eyes as though they'd accomplished something important, but they seemed to be only slightly less tired than the captain, and they each had a number of bruises.

* * *

The following morning, the captain woke up late. In fact, it was nearly nine o'clock by the time he was awake, and almost nine thirty before he was ready to start the day's work. The regular ship's operations had been completed on schedule, and only one or two things needed his attention before he decided to address the main point of what his work for that day would entail.

"Harriet." the captain said, as the morning sun cast his shadow across the deck of the ship in her direction, "I'd like you, Thom and Rei-Nu to come with me on the longboat to the island I went to for most of yesterday. There's something I need to show the three of you."

All three were clearly curious, and more than a little confused, but they wouldn't refuse their captain, so soon, they were all on the island, standing in front of him.

"Are you finally going to tell us about how you lost your foot?" Harriet asked, indicating the wooden foot that the captain still wore.

For a moment, though, the captain seemed a little surprised by that question for some reason, but soon, he replied, "Oh. Actually, I might as well. I lost my foot in a recent battle with a very powerful enemy. However, that isn't the reason I asked you all to come here."

Harriet clearly didn't understand the captain's attitude about his missing foot. Certainly, it wasn't wise to dwell on a tragedy too much, but she was apparently puzzled that he'd ignored his own wound so completely, and was wondering what could be so important that it would make his foot seem like such a meaningless subject.

However, as Harriet thought about those things, the captain saw something that he'd never seen before, and that something nearly made him cry out in joy. He saw Harriet's thoughts in her eyes. He couldn't see all of her thoughts, of course; just what she was thinking about him at that moment. For quite some time, the captain had wondered if the Hero of Time had been a mind reader, because of his ability to pick up on other people's thoughts and feelings very quickly and easily, but just then, he realized the truth, and what's more, he was learning to perform the same technique himself.

In excitement, the captain pointed to Harriet and said, "You're wondering what could be more important to me than my foot."

Then, turning to Thom, he said in amazement, "You're worried about your family and friends, and you hope we'll finish with our mission soon."

Then, at last, he turned to Rei-Nu, and announced, "And you're amazed at how much I've grown over the past couple weeks, and confused about our current mission. Also, as a side-thought, you're wondering how I know all this."

All three of them were, the captain could tell, absolutely stunned. All of them were soon wondering how he knew so much, and at once, a great, big grin spread over the captain's face.

"Maybe you'll be able to do the same thing someday as well." he said, smiling, "but even that isn't really what I wanted to show you."

Then, in a moment, the captain's grin broadened slightly, and he tightened both hands into fists. He tensed up all his muscles at once, and in a single, swift motion, he felt them becoming as hard as rock, as his hairs began to bristle and stand up. Without actual rage or hate to effect the change, without falling into the darkness of a berserker rage, the captain had summoned the power of darkness that lay within his body. It had taken him all of the day before to master that process. He'd made attempt after attempt all day, and into the evening, until his muscles were sore, and his psyche was worn out, but with Seram and Torou to stop him when he began to lose control, he'd succeeded at last. The captain was the master of his own shadow.

Harriet and the others were understandably amazed. They'd only seen the captain like that once before, when he'd first returned from the isle of shadow, and at the time, he certainly hadn't seemed to be in control of the situation. At that point, though, he was stronger and better composed than they'd ever seen him, and apparently enjoying it.

"Amazing." Thom muttered, staring at the captain in awe as his power grew before their eyes, "But why just us?"

"Huh?" the captain asked, all his hairs still standing on end, even as he asked the question, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Thom tried to explain, "You have this amazing power, but why not show it to everyone? Why just the three of us? What's the point?"

The captain's smile never faded for even a moment, however, as he crossed his arms and replied, "Well, that's easy. The point is this; I was given this form as a kind of strange curse from the darkness we passed through. That means that all three of you also have this power too. It sleeps within you, waiting for the moment when you'll weaken, giving in to your rage, and when it can emerge and take over. Because of that, all three of you, right now, are a danger to our mission."

For a few moments, no one said anything, as they let that sink in. Thom was clearly filled almost at once with a fear that he'd never felt before. Harriet was beginning to fear for her own safety as well, and Rei-Nu seemed simply curious.

"Maybe you'd better tell us the entire story." Rei-Nu suggested, so the captain began to describe what had happened to him on the isle of shadow, and what had happened since then, skipping over only a few parts, and only when they didn't seem relevant.

"It took me most of yesterday to learn how to control this aspect of myself." the captain explained, "I've never really had to worry about losing control when I got angry before, so I didn't stop to consider how much of a problem that would be. I never realized how much I got angry until it became dangerous to, so when I lost control that first time, it was like a horrible nightmare. I don't want any of you to have to face that nightmare at a pivotal point when your skills will be needed, so we're going to be spending some time on this island together."

"Interesting." Rei-Nu remarked, both eyes closed, "But how can you be sure we're also infected with this horrible darkness that you're describing?"

"Honestly, I'm not," Link replied, "so each of you is going to show me whether you've been infected or not, and until you do, we won't leave this island."

"This is ridiculous!" Harriet exclaimed, clearly irritated by the very suggestion, "I'm not going to lose control. This entire thing is a waste of our time."

"Maybe so." The captain muttered, sitting down cross-legged on the sand, his hair still standing on end as he did so. Then, however, he just closed his eyes and didn't say another word about it.

For a while, the four of them just stayed there, looking at one another, and not sure what they were supposed to be doing next. The captain remained seated in the sand with both eyes closed, as the others tried their best to keep themselves from worrying about the horrible, oppressive time limit that they were being subjected to. After all, their people needed them to help save them from Ganondorf and from starvation, and there they were on a tiny island, talking about darkness, and worrying about what dwelled inside of them. They each had their own feelings about that.

Harriet, it seemed, thought that it was idiotic, and deep down inside, was a little worried that if she turned out to be contaminated by that darkness, she might never be allowed to leave the island. Rei-Nu apparently found the entire thing incredibly curious, and wanted to know more about it. Thom, on the other hand, seemed to be growing more and more worried by the minute; concerned that his people were running out of time.

* * *

Suddenly, just a few seconds later, Harriet looked around, and found, to her shock and chagrin, that Rei-Nu and Thom were returning to the ship in the longboat; leaving her and the captain behind.

"Stop! Stop!" Harriet screamed at the top of her lungs, absolutely terrified by what she was seeing, "Come back!"

"There's no reason for those two to return here, you know." she heard the captain say from behind her, "They turned out to be clean. Only you and I have the infection."

"But where are they going?" Harriet asked him directly, as the longboat was pulled up into the ship, and fitted into its proper place on one side of the deck.

"Probably to help save our people, but we're staying right here. I'm afraid I can't let you leave this island."

"What are you talking about, Link?" Harriet practically gasped out, "Is this some kind of joke?"

"No. I'm serious about this." he replied without opening his eyes, "Try to swim away, and you're dead."

For a moment, Harriet didn't know what to do, but at last, she made her decision. She wasn't going to be kept here; not by the captain, or by anyone. Swiftly, she spun around to face him, and rushed towards him with a knife in one hand. At once, a blow as hard as stone collided with her stomach, but she clung to the knife, and swiped out at her attacker as quickly as possible. However, the captain ducked out of its range of attack almost effortlessly, and kicked her to one side.

"You're a horrible disappointment." the captain remarked, as Harriet lay in the sand, "Why can't you just accept your destiny? It'll be less painful. You know you can never beat me. You're pathetic."

All at once, Harriet felt a horrible, burning hate well up within her, and looked directly up into the captain's eyes. Then, she rose to her feet once again in a terrible rage...

* * *

As soon as Rei-Nu and Thom had gotten back to the ship, they noticed something horrible. The crew of their ship seemed to be dying. Thom rushed over to one of them, incredible sympathy in his eyes as he tried to get the shadow warrior to speak, but although his eyes were open, his mouth couldn't move; he couldn't even make any sound at all. Thom knew, even without looking, that the rest of them would be the same way.

"What is this?" Thom asked, almost in a panic.

"I don't know," Rei-Nu replied, however, hardly less worried, but controlling it better, "Help me get him into the hold, and I'll look him over."

Soon, Thom lifted the man's head and shoulders, and Rei-Nu grabbed his feet, and pretty soon, he was in the hold of the ship, laid down on top of a long, wide crate, which was, at the moment, empty.

"Hand me that candle." Rei-Nu ordered, and Thom grabbed a candle from a raised table nearby, and held it close to the man, but the moment that it came within three feet of the man, the flame of the candle went out on its own. Rei-Nu relit it twice, but the same thing happened each time.

"Curious." he muttered in amazement, "This is going to require some study. Go up on deck. We need a lookout."

By that point, Thom was scared beyond reason. His concern for others was one of his driving motivations, so maybe it was fitting that he was provoked by the first figure he saw on deck. There, in his black robes and dark boots, stood Ganondorf himself, laughing openly at all the devastation around him.

"You!" Thom yelled, his fury finally driving away his fear, as he began to accept his own fate, "Did you do this?"

"That's an awfully dumb question." Ganondorf replied with a smirk, "This will be the fate of everyone in the Great Sea; drowning in darkness, until there's no light left. Make no mistake; the Hero of Time can't stop me unless I want to be stopped, and neither can you, but I might choose to leave you alive for a while. It'll make it all the sweeter when I destroy Isle Prime."

The very moment that he heard those words, however, Thom rushed forward in a rage unlike any that he'd ever felt...

* * *

One of Rei-Nu's first steps after Thom had left the hold was to remove the patient's shirt, to examine him more closely, but the moment he did that, he saw that the man had thick, black lines running up and down his arms and shoulders like tattoos, and a single black mark in the shape of a cloud, positioned over his chest. Rei-Nu didn't know much about the ways of magic runes, but even if he had, it's doubtful that he would have been able to recognize those, because they were physical enchantments beyond what any mortal man had ever seen.

Curiously, Rei-Nu ran his hand over the markings on the man's left arm, but the moment he did so, they began to radiate a kind of dark energy, which started to emerge from his body, clinging to Rei-Nu's fingertips. Rei-Nu struggled to pull himself free, but the darkness was too strong, and soon, he found his entire field of vision obscured by it. However, even when Rei-Nu found himself surrounded by darkness, there was still clearly someone or something there, speaking to him from the darkness itself.

"Yes." he heard a voice from the darkness say, "I was wondering when you'd be joining us. It's a shame, though, that you couldn't have served us better before we claimed your world."

Rei-Nu shivered all over, both in rage and in fear, as from the darkness, a face appeared; a face with fire in its eyes; a face that was inhuman.

"We are the darkness," the face said dispassionately, "and you wanted to know about us. You were curious about what we were. Well, let us tell you. We are the end of realities. We are the horror that consumes all. We are the surrender to wickedness, the abandonment of righteousness, and the absence of hope, and in a matter of weeks, your world will be a part of us."

"No!" Rei-Nu exclaimed, suddenly starting to panic over the very thought, as even his curiosity reached its limit, "We'll stop you!"

"You'll play no hand in stopping us." the face in the darkness replied calmly, "You're halfway to becoming a part of us already."

Rei-Nu was about to respond, refusing to believe it, but then, he began to consider it. With his every sense covered in darkness, and with Ganondorf helping to spread it, he might never get out of that abyss again. Then, what good would his knowledge do? What could all his skills and research be used for? At once, he began to understand what the creature had said about the absence of hope, but as long as that big, dark face was in front of his, he had something to focus on, and he did focus; turning his despair to rage, then hate...

* * *

As one, Harriet, Thom and Rei-Nu dove forward and struck out at the captain in unison. He seemed surprised by that reaction, but he could see that their muscles had tensed up, and their hair was standing straight up as well.

Reacting quickly, the captain swung both arms around in their directions, then whirled them purposefully, blocking their punches and kicks, but every moment, their skill seemed to be increasing, so although the captain disliked having to go to that extreme, he called up a spell of magic armor around himself, and took their punches and kicks head-on, then kicked Thom right in the face, sending him sprawling. The next time Rei-Nu and Harriet struck out at him, he grabbed their fists, and slammed both of them against the ground by their arms. Soon, however, they began to get up again, just as his invulnerability spell started to wear off, and he knew that he had to find some way to bring those three back to their senses as quickly as he could.

"Think about this carefully." the captain said aloud, hoping to get their attention "Is this who you want to be; a brute, ruled by your anger? Am I really the person you want to attack, right here and now?"

Slowly, one by one, as they looked into his eyes, the three of them began to understand the nature of the beasts within them, and started to fight them. At last, their hair started to loosen up around their heads and shoulders, and their muscles softened as they forced themselves, by the power of their will, to calm down.

"Well," the captain said at last, as all of them regained control, "I think I've made my point. All of you were infected too; just like I was."

Rei-Nu; still mostly in shock, barely had time to utter the word "how," before Seram and Torou appeared from thin air nearby. That certainly made things a lot clearer. Almost everything that had happened to them since they'd landed on that island had been a trick or illusion of some kind, cast upon them by those two sages of light and shadow. The captain could see quite clearly that each of them was having a hard time driving off the hate for those two sages, after all they'd just been put through, and he could understand that feeling somewhat. It just wasn't their feelings that mattered, at that point.

Harriet seemed aware that there was no longer any room for skepticism, and looked extremely worried by what had just happened to them, but Thom looked even more worried. He was clearly trying his best to look directly at the captain a moment later, when he asked, "Isn't there anything we can do?"

"I hope so." the captain replied, still smiling, "You'll just have to face this part of yourselves over and over again, just like I did, and you'll have to trust me to be there for you when you change. I'll do everything I can to help you."

"Captain," Rei-Nu interrupted, however, looking more curious than angry by that point, "you're obviously going to try training us to face our own darkness, but I'm still not sure how. What kind of training are you suggesting?"

"Just this," the captain replied, however, "You're going to be bringing on this transformation intentionally, over and over again, right here on this island. At first, the only way to do that is with horrible tension of the body and soul; rage and hate, for example. Then, you're going to bring yourself back out of it, the way you just did. We're going to do that again and again, and I can tell you right now, that it won't be easy. You'll be trusting all of us with a part of yourselves that you're afraid of, but until we accomplish that, we can't continue on our voyage. After a while, you might be able to dispel your dark form almost instantly, and even control it, or summon it with only a small amount of tension, like I can, but don't expect to learn how to do that immediately. It'll take a long time, and a lot of effort and pain."

Thom still looked horribly afraid; maybe even more so than before, but he nodded to the captain, agreeing to the plan already. Rei-Nu seemed to know that he had very little choice, but didn't have any obvious desire to lose control anymore, or fight anyone. As for Harriet, the entire thing clearly worried her, even more than it worried them, and it wasn't just that she was afraid of the dark thing inside her. There was more to it than that. For some reason, it still seemed as if Harriet was more afraid of the captain and his friends than she was of her own darkness.

* * *

As the day pressed on, Thom and Rei-Nu continued to activate the transformation in themselves, and each time, it took them less and less time to recover from it, but Harriet just sat on the beach throughout the whole affair, not willing to cooperate with the training of the others. Just watching them behaving like monsters again and again was a horrible thing, because it reminded Harriet of the betrayal that she'd suffered in the past; the lies she'd been told, and the spot of mistrust that had been growing in her heart since the sage of light had shown her the truth about her past.

As the day wore on, Rei-Nu, the consummate calm bookworm, soon managed to make the transition back and forth between his transformed and normal states without even throwing a single punch, and the captain announced that that was as good a cue as any that they all deserved a break, but Harriet could tell that the announcement was really just an excuse for him to ask her why she hadn't tried a second transformation yet.

"Why haven't you tried a second transformation yet?"

Those were the captain's exact words, from right behind Harriet; as blunt and tactless as anything that a child could have come up with. There he stood, with his arms folded, looked down at where she sat in the sand of the island's beach, and he was getting right to the point; something she wasn't exactly accustomed to.

Harriet's mind rifled quickly through a dozen potential responses, before settling on "I want to wait until the three of you were finished, so I don't hurt you," but the moment she opened her mouth to lie to him, he clearly saw the lie coming in her eyes, and interrupted her before she could speak, saying, "Haven't you been hurt enough by lies yet?"

Harriet's mouth hung wide open as she thought about those words. That had indeed been the perfect thing to bring up. The entire lack of trust she'd developed since her first meeting with Torou was due almost exclusively to the lies she'd been told during her life; lies she'd once thought she was good at seeing through. Then, suddenly, she'd been shown that in reality, she really had believed half the lies that she'd heard in her life, and the captain, with the power of darkness coursing through him, had seen through hers so easily.

"I wish I could do that as easily as you," Harriet remarked, almost hoping to derail the topic of conversation, though really, she knew it wouldn't work, "but if you want the truth, then here it is. I don't trust you. I don't trust Thom. I don't trust Rei-Nu, Seram, or even Torou, even though all he's done is show me the truth, and what's more, I don't think I can trust anybody anymore. You wanted the truth, and that's all there is to it."

For a moment, it seemed as if the captain was deep in thought, contemplating what she'd just told him, and Harriet expected him to dismiss her objection after just a few moments, but the next time that he opened his mouth, his reply absolutely shocked her.

"I haven't given you much reason to trust me." the captain muttered, sitting down beside her, and gazing out towards the ocean, "That's kind of an obvious problem, but it's easy to overlook."

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, neither daring to look at the other, but at last, the captain spoke up again.

"Harriet... In all the time you've known me, you've probably learned a lot about me. What can you tell me about myself?"

"Well..." Harriet muttered, finding that question pretty difficult to answer, although she knew that the captain would spot a lie coming from a mile away, so she answered as truthfully as she could, "Almost nothing. You're the captain of the Seeker, and you sail the sea in search of a continent to save our people."

"Huh." the captain remarked sadly, still not looking at her, "Why so little information?"

"Well, the truth is," Harriet replied, feeling a little disappointed herself, "there were things I used to think were true about you that I've had plenty of reason to rethink. For example, I used to think that you were arrogant, but that's obviously not true, seeing how uncomfortable you are with authority. I used to think you were a lousy tactician, or maybe just a very slow learner, but that's obviously not true either."

"No." the captain replied however, sounding even sadder than before, "You were right. I used to be all those things; arrogant, slow, juvenile; but I've grown beyond that now, Harriet. I've changed. Over the past couple of weeks, I've changed more than during the entire rest of my life, and I have no reason to think that I won't continue to change."

"I think I know what you're saying." Harriet replied after just a moment, though she still wasn't smiling, "You want me to accept that people change, and that not everyone is untrustworthy. Maybe even some of the people who lied to me in the past have changed since then."

The captain smiled as soon as she said that.

"I've thought of that already," Harriet replied, however, refusing to return the captain's smile, "but I still can't bring myself to trust people; especially not someone who's always changing, like you."

"What harm could I really do?" the captain asked, looking her in the eyes again, but by that point, Harriet was ready with a response.

"As a firsthand witness to my own bestial behavior, you could do a lot of harm, and as a much more powerful person than me, I couldn't stop you."

"Yes you could." the captain replied, just as casually as before, "If I ever tried to blackmail you, you could just tell people it was my fault we haven't had a continent these past eight years."

The captain said that so casually, that for a moment, Harriet wasn't sure she'd heard him right.

"What was that?"

The comment had, it seemed, been heard by everyone else on the island as well, but the captain had intended that, so he didn't seem displeased at all, when they started to move closer to where he was sitting, listening to him carefully.

"Well, about eight years ago," the captain explained, "I claimed two enchanted items called the Triforce of Courage and the Master Sword, and confronted Ganondorf under the ocean, claiming to be the Hero of Winds. I'd let an enchanted, talking boat called the King of Red Lions tell me I was some kind of wonderful hero, and thanks to him, I was really full of myself when I confronted the king of evil. Ganon beat me easily, and took the Triforce of Courage from me, hoping that it would grant him absolute power once he combined it with two other artifacts called the Triforce of Power and the Triforce of Wisdom, but the person who really used that power was the King of Red Lions, and he used it to destroy the land under the sea. He could have restored it, built a new continent for us, or at least rid us of Ganondorf forever, but that's not what he did, and it was my fault for bringing him to that place. If not for me, we'd all have a continent to live on. There it is. Now, if I ever try to blackmail you, you can blackmail me right back, and I swear I'll back off."

Naturally, as the captain had been talking about those grave matters, the smile had vanished from his face, and every other person on the island who'd been smiling had stopped as well. At last, however, it was Rei-Nu who spoke first.

"I feel sorry for you," he said sadly, "to know that the solution was within your grasp, and that you couldn't obtain it must be a horrifying feeling. I can only imagine how you must torture yourself over that loss every day of your life."

The captain was silent while he said this, but finally, he responded by saying, "Yes. I relive that horror every night, but it's no more than I deserve."

"Alright, captain." Harriet said at last, getting to her feet, and clearly worrying that she might regret it later, "I'll try a second transformation while those two rest up. There's no secret that could possibly be more incriminating than what you've just told me."

* * *

Soon, the group went back to their training, united in a common cause. None of them wanted to be the weak link in their crew, so when evening came, they were tired, bruised, and still very worried, but they were almost as good at controlling their dark sides as the captain himself was by that point.

When they arrived back on board the ship, all of them went straight to bed, except for the captain, who gave orders that the ship should travel immediately to Dragon Roost Island, then after helping out among the crew for about an hour, he also went to bed himself, but for a while, he couldn't get to sleep. His experiences in training the others to overcome their dark sides had made him feel a little bit like the Hero of Time, and he couldn't really guage whether that was good or bad, but more importantly, it had taught him one more thing; their dark forms could see through illusions. That was something that he hadn't realized, and it worried him. He knew that his own dark form caused a real, physical change in himself, but he'd thought that it was merely a matter of becoming stronger and more determined. However, it seemed that there were other powers that it granted him as well, and that made him wonder about the other changes in his dark form. Even if he could control himself in that form, after all, were there any other side-effects to the transformation of darkness, and even if there were, how could he even know about them, much less prevent them?

While those worrying thoughts circling through the captain's head, sleep didn't come easily, but it did finally come.

* * *

It was nearly the evening of the next day by the time the Seeker arrived at Dragon Roost. The captain naturally chose to go ashore alone, convinced that the rito would take the bad news better from him, and being well known among the rito people, and especially King Komali, he was soon granted an audience with Medli; the sage of earth.

It often struck the captain as ironic that the sage of earth should be a rito. After all, the rito were people with beaks, feathers, and powerful wings, who used flight as an important aspect of their way of life. Of all the peoples of the Great Sea, they were the least earthbound, and yet, there was Medli; the nineteen-year-old rito girl, who was the sage of earth, and had been a good friend of the captain since his childhood. She was the one who he'd have to tell the bad news to.

Soon, he was sitting on the floor of the upper chamber of the rito's cave home, which was used by them as a meeting room in that current age, and Medli entered through the back entrance of the room, and sat on the floor opposite him, to look him in his eyes.

The moment that the captain looked into Medli's eyes, however, he could see with dismay that she had, perhaps for years, had the same powers of insight that he was just starting to acquire, because her eyes moved to read his with such a certainty of purpose, that he felt he might not even have to say a word.

"You've come with terrible news." Medli observed after only a couple of seconds, "It's news you think will upset me horribly. You're afraid I won't believe you, or won't be your friend after you tell it to me."

The captain sighed when Medli said that, though more in worry than relief, as he recognized that all of that was true. It was a part of his feelings, which he'd been trying to ignore.

"It's about your powers as a sage." the captain began, hoping that telling it all at once would make it easier on them both, "Since you were given the harp of earth, you've had the power of the sage of earth. Do you know where that power comes from?"

Medli seemed a bit bewildered by that question, as she tried to explain what she knew on the subject, saying, "Well, the legends say that the power of the sages of wind and earth was passed down from the ancients, and placed in our souls by our ancestors, where they form into springs of power, which react when we use the instruments."

"In other words," the captain continued, "the instruments tap into magic within us."

"Right." she replied, although the captain was pleased to see that she didn't look completely sure of what she was saying.

"So, how do the instruments do that?" the captain asked.

She seemed to be considering that for a moment, but it was becoming obvious that she simply didn't know.

"They're enchanted." the captain eventually explained, after waiting a few moments for Medli to respond to him, "Your harp is enchanted to give the power of the sage of earth to the one who plays it, but that isn't the bad news. You see, I met someone recently who said that he was the sage of light, and he revealed to me the truth about all the biggest lies I'd ever heard..."

Just like that, the captain told Medli the story about how he'd met Torou, and learned about the real ancient sages, and the conspiracy by selfish forces to forge the identity of the sages, and create a new kind of regime among the people with them. When he finally finished, Medli was staring right into his eyes, as though searching desperately for some clue that he might not be telling the full truth, but there was no dishonesty in his face.

"So that's the whole story." the captain concluded sadly, "Whatever the sages of wind and earth may have done since then, they were originally conceived by selfish men for reasons of personal gain."

For a few moments, neither of them spoke, but finally, Medli broke the silence, looking contemplative, but not smiling at all.

"You've changed a lot, Link; for the better. You're more observant."

"Thank you."

Medli sighed deeply at that point, however. She must have known that she'd have to reply to what he'd said before, and there was no sense sitting there, and letting the atmosphere become oppressive.

"Link," she said after another moment, "I need some time to think about this. Can I meet you on the beach in about an hour?"

The captain just nodded silently, and stood up to go. On the one hand, he was pleased that she'd noticed his new abilities, but thanks to those new abilities, he could also tell that she was very distressed. The captain was starting to worry about Medli even more. Eight years ago, after having met the King of Red Lions, he'd needed the help of Medli and Makar to, he'd been told, empower the Master Sword to help him defeat Ganon, but having only half-succeeded at accomplishing that particular mission, her help had been, apparently, marginal. Still, the incident had made them friends, and had inspired Komali; who'd only been a boy himself at the time, to face the difficulties in his own life. The captain had never known the glory of Hyrule firsthand, but he did know how wonderful it was to have friends, and he was hoping with all his heart that the task of telling her that horrifying truth hadn't cost him their friendship, as he walked to the beach to start waiting.

* * *

Medli, in turn, was thinking less about what the captain had said, and more about her past encounters with him, as she paced back and forth through the Rito city; a series of caves, which were well-lit and fairly open, to allow for easy flying between floors. Of all the peoples who'd been working with Isle Prime up to that point, the rito were perhaps the best organized. They'd had, for many years, a royalty, a series of important ceremonies to define the different stages of their lives, and even a postal service, which served to deliver mail all across the Great Sea. Their society ran neatly, efficiently and fairly, and although they weren't always pleased with the monetary way that the Great Sea hylians had been governing one another, they didn't look down on them for it either, so to speak.

Medli stepped outside as she reflected on what the captain meant to her, and proceeded to perch on one of the railings that surrounded Dragon Roost Island. Dragon Roost was a very tall volcano, so there was a great deal of space for railings up and down the sides and paths of the island, few though those paths were. Medli dove gracefully from the railing in a moment, and flew low over the water beneath; so low, in fact, that she could have touched it with her hands as it sped by underneath her, so that was exactly what she did. She then flew back to her previous perch, to rub the small droplets of water over her feathers as she continued to think things over.

Eight years before, she, Komali and the captain had just been children, and with her whole life ahead of her, she'd thought that she could almost take on the world herself. At the time, Valoo; the dragon god of the mountain, who protected the rito, had been driven almost mad with pain by an evil monster, which Ganon had sent into the volcano to torment the dragon god's tail. That meant that the ritos' first feather ceremony could no longer be performed, because it required Valoo's cooperation.

The first feather ceremony was performed when a rito came of age, and had acquired the wisdom to use their power for the good of all. When that happened, they were escorted to the top of Dragon Roost, where Valoo himself would remove one of his thousands upon thousands of enchanted dragon scales, and give it to the young rito. They'd return with that to the rito city, where the scale would be ground into a potion, which didn't have to be enchanted any further, and when it was swallowed, it had the power to transform the young rito in the blink of an eye. For a rito, that transformation always caused their wings to grow large enough to allow them to fly for the first time. That was the purpose of the first feather ceremony, and without it, their entire way of life would have changed a great deal, but it required Valoo's help.

When the evil monster had made that impossible, the rito had begun to search for a way to calm Valoo down, but none of their ideas had worked. That caused many of the rito children, including Komali himself, who'd been, at the time, the prince, to begin losing hope. Then, the captain had appeared. With only a little help from Medli, he'd succeeded in defeating the monster sent by Ganon, and restoring peace to Valoo and Dragon Roost Island. That act, uncomplicated though it might have seemed to Medli, was a source of great wonder to Komali, who, at once, regained his hope, and from then on, began down the long road to maturity, learning to fly, even as he learned to make decisions without getting lost in his own self-pity. Medli had watched him continue along that path every step of the way, in much the same way as a mother watched their children grow to adulthood.

That same year, however, Medli had needed to awaken the power of the sage of earth within herself, to help the captain restore the power of the Master Sword, but it hadn't taken very long, and had had very little bearing on anything else that had happened to her since then.

Later, she and the pirates had fished the captain and Tetra out of the ocean, and since that day, they'd been good friends. The captain's job took him far out into unexplored areas of the Great Sea, so they didn't get to meet with one another very often, but when they did, they always had something new to talk about. The captain had been present for the funeral of Komali's father, and the ascendance ceremony of Komali himself, but by that time, the new rito king had begun to act a bit distant towards the captain. Maybe he'd felt that he'd exceeded or outgrown the captain in some manner, or maybe he was disappointed that his people were still in danger, and the captain was as helpless as everyone else to save them, but for whatever reason, Komali no longer seemed to admire the captain, and had begun to treat him as more of a professional associate. He didn't even invite him to dine at the central table during the party after his coronation.

It wasn't that Komali was cruel or cold to most people. On the contrary, he was just about the most well-adjusted king that the rito had ever had, and even jovial at times, when he felt that a situation was becoming too serious, but something about the captain brought out a stiffness in his attitude. Medli knew Komali better than anyone, but she still wasn't sure why that was.

When the food had begun to run out, the rito had attempted to convert several plateaus on their island into gardens, but the minerals in the soil were soon completely gone, and they would have done as well to try to grow lettuce in a pile of ashes. Medli had used her powers as the sage of earth to draw up minerals into the soil from deep underground, which bought their people a few extra months, but something in the water surrounding the island was eroding the soil anyway, dissolving the vital minerals faster than she could gather them. The sea, which they'd once thought was so beautiful, was killing them all. They'd lived on the sea all their lives, so it had never occurred to them that their ecosystem might be incapable of achieving a balance with so much water, and so little land, but those were the facts, she was discovering. Like everyone, the Rito needed to eat to survive, and it had already been over a week since the last of their food had vanished.

Over all that time, as Medli had been struggling to force the world around her to provide for them, she'd watched the rito of her generation mature into fine young men and women. They'd learned to fly, and even appealed to Valoo to approach the other gods on behalf of their people, with the problem of the food shortage, but it seemed that he was just as helpless as them, when it came to that issue. They'd begun to lose hope, but Medli had always hoped that the captain would one day arrive and save them, just as he had before. Over the years, they'd talked to one another and written letters to each other. They were still friends, but over time, he seemed to have changed. Like all the other people her age, he was maturing; a bit later than the others, perhaps, but it had been bound to happen eventually. At that point, he'd returned to her once again, not to save her people, but to tell her that the powers of the sage of earth had been conceived in wickedness.

However, Medli had seen a lot of sadness in the captain's eyes when he'd said those things, as though he would have done anything to change those truths. Once she considered it all, Medli knew that she had to accept what he'd said, as well as who she was, and take responsibility once again, just as she'd done many times in the past. Quickly, she spread her wings, and flew to the beach, where she alighted right in front of the captain, who'd been seated in the sand. However, as soon as she descended in front of him, he quickly stood up to greet her honorably.

"You're early." the captain noticed aloud.

"I knew you'd be waiting here the whole time." Medli replied, however, trying her best to fake a pleased smile, though she was very sad at the moment, "I know that you really do care that much about our friendship."

The captain just nodded quickly, though he didn't bother replying. On that particular subject, no real reply was needed.

"I believe what you've said is the truth." Medli continued at last, almost feeling relieved to get those sentiments off her chest, "Not just because of what you've told me, either. You see, Link, when I served as the sage of earth for you, in the Earth Temple, playing to give power to the Master Sword, I could feel a counter-force of some kind trying to push me back. At first, I didn't know what it was, but now I do. It was the will of the Master Sword itself. I didn't understand how it could be at the time, but somehow, the Master Sword didn't want me to open its power to you. Oh, Link! I'm sorry!"

Medli had said that, because an expression of shock and dismay had crossed his face just then, but she quickly continued, trying her best to clarify what she'd meant, "But you see, that's just how it felt to me. Now you've confirmed it with that story of yours. I suppose we're even now. You've given me some bad news, and I've given you bad news in exchange."

The captain just nodded again. In the old days, he would have obstinately refused to believe such a thing, but since his recent development into an adult, it seemed that he was big enough to recognize that he'd had had some significant faults when he'd been young. He hadn't been worthy of the blade of evil's bane, and the Master Sword at full power would surely have sensed that. It was something that he'd need to work on; to grow to become strong enough of heart and soul to be worthy of it one day. Forcibly controlling the Master Sword from without was the easy way of doing things, and in the end, it hadn't worked.

"Anyways, if even after all that, you still want to be friends..." Medli stammered, but the captain responded by grabbing both of her hands in his own, and looking right into her eyes with an expression that, to her, spoke volumes, each page a message of gratitude.

"There's nothing more important between friends than sharing the truth." the captain said with a broad smile, "I think we aught to be friends forever."

That time, though, Medli really did smile, as much as her beak-like face would allow for, and replied to him with much greater confidence, "Now, I know my powers were conceived in greed, but can you still use their help?"

The captain released her hands quickly when she asked him that, but he replied, "We can use all the help we can get. We're up against forces you wouldn't believe."

It was only then, however, that Medli noticed his wooden foot, and gasped in shock as she stammered, "Wha... What happened to your foot?"

"Like I said, we're up against forces you wouldn't believe." the captain reiterated quickly, "I lost my foot in a battle with one of them."

"That's horrible." Medli replied sympathetically, but for some reason, the captain didn't look all that horrified, even when he replied to her a moment later.

"You know, it's strange." the captain admitted, apparently a bit confused, "I mean, I know it's tragic to lose my foot, and it was certainly very painful, but for some reason, I just haven't been that upset by it. I mean, I just haven't felt angry or discouraged, like I normally would. I wonder if that's part of growing into maturity, or if it has something to do with all the strange things I've been running into."

"If you'll let me follow you," Medli replied, still grinning a bit sheepishly, "you can explain some of those things."

At once, she stepped into the boat, which would take them back to the captain's vessel. She could tell that the two of them still had a lot to catch up on.

* * *

Although the captain and Medli had been friends for years, the past couple of months had been taxing for their relationship. Medli had been flying all over the Great Sea on errands, and returning home to Dragon Roost more and more infrequently. Because of that, the captain hadn't been certain that he'd find her when he'd set sail for the isle of the ritos, and the fact that she'd been there when he'd arrived had, in his eyes, been a bit of good luck. Thanks to that good fortune, he'd managed to deliver the bad news to the sage of earth in less than a day after his arrival, which meant that he could move on to his next duty that much faster; talking to his other old friend.

However, the sage of wind; Makar, would be another story entirely. Since Makar had cooperated with him in their attempt to stop Ganon eight years before, he seemed to have simply vanished off the face of the world. At least, that was the way it seemed to the captain.

Unlike Medli, the captain hadn't spoken to Makar for many years, and had never gone to the trouble of writing him a letter. There were a few complicated reasons behind that, but they all really boiled down to the fact that the captain and Makar weren't exactly friends.

Eight years before, Makar had been even more foolish than the captain; an imperfect wood spirit, who'd wandered into a dark forest isle, inhabited by concentrated evil magic, and many powerful monsters. Because of that, he'd eventually been devoured by one of them, and would surely have died if the captain hadn't saved him. After gaining the powers of the sage of wind, Makar had aided the captain in his quest, but after that, they hardly ever spoke. Makar looked very much like a thick, wooden sapling, with a leaf, which served as a face, containing holes for eyes and a mouth, and some leaves on his body. That may have been part of what made it so difficult to talk to Makar, but it probably wasn't solely responsible for their inability to become friends. That might have had more to do with the fact that Makar had seemed, even in those days, to be a very flawed and weak creature. His constitution was no sturdier than a block of wood, and he seemed to have almost no means of carefully considering the effects of his actions, picking up anything heavier than a violin, walking with any kind of speed, or performing a number of other tasks. Makar, and indeed, all of Makar's people, known as the koroks, had seemed, to the captain, to almost be handicapped.

For whatever reason, Makar and the captain hadn't really become friends, and when Makar had left the korok isle of Forest Haven to seek his destiny in the Great Sea, he hadn't told the captain where he was going, and hadn't even written to apprise him of his progress, such as it might have been. To that very day, the captain still had no idea where Makar was, which was part of the reason why he'd gone to Medli first. He'd hoped that she might be able to clue him in to Makar's new location.

The first chance he got, therefore, the captain brought the subject up with her, and was pleased to find out that her relationship with Makar had been just a bit better than his.

"Well, we kind of suspected Ganon might return some day, and if that happened, we might need to get in touch with one another very quickly," Medli explained, "so he's been telling me where he is, and where he's been going. More or less, he's spent the last few months planting trees throughout the western Great Sea, but for some reason, he's gravitated around an island called 'Hollow Isle.' As I understand it, it's a place of very powerful illusions, so it's a good place to hide from pursuers. At first, when I heard he was around there, I was worried that he was being followed, and just didn't want to tell me about it, but I don't think Makar is being hunted anymore, or he would have sounded more worried in his letters."

"I've seen Hollow Isle." the captain noted in reply, frowning as he turned away from Medli again, "I'll give the order to set sail in that direction at once."

"Wait, Link." Medli interrupted, however, before he could give any orders to his crew, "There's one more thing. I want you to try not to look down on Makar. He's grown a lot over the past few years, and he doesn't want there to be any enmity between you and him."

The silence that followed that comment was profound, as the captain rested one hand on the bow of the nearest longboat, feeling its rough, wooden texture under his touch, and trying to think of something to say in response to that. However, all he could say, when it came down to it, was "There's no enmity between us. There never was."

Then, he walked to the center of the ship, and gave the order to set sail, as Medli watched him work, with even more worry in her eyes.

* * *

In under a day, Hollow Isle was in sight, but it looked much different than the captain remembered it. The entire place was covered with trees and large rocks. When the captain had visited that island two years before, there had only been a few trees, and the major feature of the island had been a persistence mirage of a lake, which never vanished, even when he was standing right in it. Still, the land contours were the same, so the captain knew that to be the right isle.

Once again, he went ashore, but that time, Medli insisted on accompanying him, and they soon found themselves wandering through a lush-looking forest.

Out of curiosity, the captain stuck out one of his hands to examine a nearby tree, and wasn't really surprised to find his hand passing right through it. The trees didn't really exist, of course. They were part of the illusion; a blind to conceal someone or something.

"Who's out there?" the captain yelled aloud, into the forest around him, but there was no response. Whoever was in hiding, they either couldn't hear him, or had no intention of revealing themselves just yet.

However, the captain wasn't going to simply ignore the person hiding nearby, because he could already tell that someone was indeed concealed on that island; a person who might even be watching him at that very moment. Quickly, he pulled out his bow, and fired an arrow at the base of a nearby tree, then swept his foot under another, but again, connected only with air.

By that point, the captain's instincts had begun to tell him that the person nearby was definitely hiding in one of the trees. There was no doubt about that much. Then, something else occurred to him, however; an idea that made him feel pretty good about himself. All at once, he'd figured out how to track down the small stalker of that island.

Swiftly, the captain ran his fingers over the sand at his feet, until he found what he was looking for; footprints. He put away his bow, and diving forward, grasping a small figure, who he found in the tree that he was diving through. Medli gasped as the captain did that, but both of them were surprised at what they saw then. They'd expected the stalker to be Makar, or at least someone they knew, but the freckled, red-haired boy who the captain had entrapped wasn't someone that either of them had ever seen before.

"Let go of me, jerk!" the red-haired boy exclaimed, and in a swift, but skillful maneuver, he poked the captain right in the eyes, and squirmed free of his grasp in a second.

"Wait!" Medli exclaimed, as the captain struggled to see, and the boy seemed about to dart back into the woods again, "We're not here to hurt you. We're just looking for a friend of ours. Have you seen a small, wooden man named Makar?"

"Huh?" the boy asked from his new hiding-place in the underbrush, seemingly torn between motives, so he placed his hands on his hips, and tried to look as tough as he could, which was, surprisingly, quite tough, considering that he was less than half the captain's height.

"Why should I trust you?" the boy asked irritably, "You just jumped me!"

"You were hiding from us." Medli replied, "Usually, when someone hides..."

"Ah!" the boy exclaimed, waving both arms in the air in delight, "You wanted to play hide and seek! Alright, then. I forgive you, but I still don't trust you."

By that point, however, the captain's eyesight had returned to normal, and he'd already decided not to try to get revenge on the small warrior. In some ways, he was even intrigued by the unique attitude and abilities of that boy, and had a feeling, little sense though it made, that the boy might be the reason why Makar had been visiting that island recently.

"Can you at least tell us when Makar will be back?" the captain asked, wiping his eyes a little.

"Nope." the boy replied, however, clearly as confident as ever.

"Is there anything we can do that will convince you to trust us?" Medli asked, noticing that the captain was beginning to feel upset with that boy again, but that his feelings of curiosity were holding his anger in check, for the most part.

"Sure there is!" the boy said with a mischievous grin, jumping up onto a nearby rock with extraordinary energy, "Just teach me a game that's fun and fresh. Then I'll trust you."

Medli and the captain looked at one another in confusion when they heard those words. A game, they wondered? What kind of game? How were they supposed to come up with a game?

From atop the four-foot-high rock, the boy shot them both a grin, which showed off his shiny, white teeth, and he laughed at their expressions.

"If you can't even think up a game," he crowed, "you must be boring, serious people. I, the great Mido, will never trust a boring, serious person. Nope."

As he said that, he crouched on the rock, watching them with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. However, by that time, there was also a glimmer in the captain's eye; a glimmer of recognition. It wasn't long ago that he'd heard a tale involving a freckled, red-haired boy named Mido, after all.

"Mido?" the captain asked aloud in astonishment, "The same Mido who knew the Hero of Time when he was a boy?"

Mido seemed a little confused by that comment at first, but then, with a hint of annoyance in his voice, he asked, "Huh? Mr. No Fairy? What about him?"

By that point, there was no doubt about it in the captain's mind. That was the very same Mido. Like Saria, his incalculable lifespan had enabled him to survive the eons, and he clearly still remembered the Hero of Time; at least in some fashion.

"I know him!" the captain exclaimed eagerly, "I know the Hero of Time! He's here in this time period right now!"

Mido seemed to find that mildly interesting, but his response was simply, "Okay. Good for you. Now, what about the game? Have you come up with one yet?"

"Huh?" The captain asked, feeling stunned. He'd expected the news to get a greater rise out of Mido than that, "Don't you care about what I just said?"

"Sure." Mido replied, however, just as flippantly as before, "But I care about fun games too. I never trusted Mr. No Fairy, and I don't trust you. Even if you do know him, that doesn't mean you know me."

Mido grinned broadly as he said that, as though very pleased with himself for articulating his feelings so well, but the captain just felt all the more confused. He couldn't figure Mido out. He was a person; thousands of years old, who'd just heard that one of his childhood friends had been miraculously restored to life, and he seemed to care more about playing a fun, new game.

Mido's callousness was very similar to that which the captain generally saw in actual children, and he wondered, for a moment, if there was some supernatural reason for that, but just as he was trying to decide whether to get the information out of Mido by force, Medli grabbed him by one arm, and escorted him far enough away from the ancient kokiri, that they could talk in private.

"Look," she said, "I know this is tough for you. You've been cautious around the requests of others since the catastrophe..."

The captain nodded in reply to that. "The catastrophe" was their way of saying "what happened eight years ago." Of course, the captain had to be careful who he followed the advise of. The King of Red Lions had proved that very conclusively, and it was the first big life lesson that the captain could remember learning, but he could see what Medli was saying. His experiences with the King of Red Lions were making it difficult for him to know when it was alright to follow someone else's advise, and he could see that was one such occasion. That was, so to speak, Mido's game, and he made the rules, and yet, in the end, there was really nothing wrong with that. He didn't have any intention of trashing valuable resources, or hurting people; he just wanted to have a little fun, and, the captain began to realize, he wanted them to have a little fun as well. That realization made him feel a bit better about that situation.

"Okay, then." the captain finally said with a grin, "So all we have to do is invent a game."

"But it has to be fun." he heard Mido saying from close behind him. The captain gave another start when he heard that. He hadn't heard the pint-sized ancient approaching at first.

"Okay." the captain finally said, smiling in spite of Mido's clear control over the situation, "It isn't going to be easy to learn this one, but I think I have a game that'll be lots of fun for all of us."

* * *

"I found her!" Medli exclaimed, holding up a rock with a burn-mark in the center, "So I get the power of shadow, right? Can I challenge the evil king yet?"

"No, no! Not yet!" Link yelled back.

"Yeah!" Mido exclaimed, having clearly mastered the intricacies of the game already, "You have to rescue the spirit sage too, and then meet the sage of time in the temple inside the castle walls! Then you can fight Ganondorf."

"Where are the castle walls again?" Medli asked, looking around for something that might slightly resemble a castle, but in response, Mido pointed behind him with his thumb, and replied a bit scornfully.

"Over in that bush, of course. That's the castle walls. If you get there with the first six medallions, you get the seventh, and then you can fight the evil king!"

"By the way, I'm still beating you!" Mido exclaimed for good measure, as he grabbed a large chunk of translucent rock from the beach nearby and ran, laughing, towards the bushes. Medli hurried to the beach, where he'd just been, but it was no good. She knew that Mido was going to win.

As soon as Mido dove into the bushes and grabbed one of the leaves on his way through, he dumped his collection of various rocks, leaves, and pieces of bark on the ground. The bush he dove into had been chosen as the castle walls for one reason and one reason only; it was the only bush on the island that really existed. All of the others were illusions. However, they could get leaves from that one, to use as medallions of time, so it was the perfect place for the castle walls.

The captain did his best to roar in mock-anger, as he leapt towards the bushes where Mido was hiding, straightening himself up in a sort of ferocious arrogance, which duplicated pretty well what he knew of Ganondorf's behavior, and he watched Mido grabbed a stick from the ground, and turn to face him. "Ganondorf," of course, picked up no weapons at all.

"Grr!" "Ganondorf" snarled, "I'm going to take over the world, and you can't stop me! I won't rest until everything belongs to me! I only care about myself, and you'd better do as I say!"

As Mido heard "Ganondorf" say that, however, his eyes opened wide, and his jaw dropped. The stick that he'd picked up fell from his hand like a lead weight. It wasn't that Mido had forgotten his line, though. There was clearly no chance of that. Mido was the best there was at playing games. However, he seemed very sad, and he waved his hands together, to indicate a time-out, and then returned to sit on the large rock once again.

Medli and the captain both knew that something was wrong by that point, so they walked over to where he was sitting. Soon, the look of sadness on Mido's face was unmistakable. It was written on his face like a very loud announcement.

"Mido..." Medli remarked at last, "Is something wrong?"

"Not for you." he said sadly, however, "I'll tell you what you want to know. But... Well, your friend... When he said those evil king lines... For a moment, I mistook him for one of those 'merchants' that flood the Great Sea with trade, and struggle to control everything in sight."

"You mean hylians?" the captain asked, but that question caused a reaction in Mido that the captain had never seen before.

Even when Mido had thought the captain was an attacker, he'd seemed more worried that angry, but the look of anger that Link saw in that face just then was more severe than anything he'd ever seen on the face of a little boy. In fact, it looked more severe than what most adults were capable of.

"They're not hylians!" Mido spat out in anger, "Not anymore... Those dirtbags give hylians a bad name!"

Then, the anger which, before, had looked just as immortal as its owner seemed to melt away again, and in its place was a profound sadness, which Mido, it seemed, had been trying to forget.

"For thousands of years, my world wasn't any bigger than the borders of the forest." Mido muttered in a dejected tone of voice, "I lived, and lived, and lived. I'm not sure how long I lived; just that I was made by the Deku Tree five years after he made Saria; the first kokiri. I was the second, and together, we literally lost track of time. Other kokiri were made after us. Some tried to grow up, and they managed it, but within about two hundred years, they went mad, and either took their own lives, or tried to recapture their childhood without falling into it. Still, there were a few; six or seven in total, aside from Saria and myself, who knew the real solution to eternal life. We had to be like children; not just in body, but in soul. We had to be light-hearted, taking nothing too seriously, never trying to take the problems of the world on our shoulders, and never, ever, ever growing up."

"The kokiri who accepted that way of life found that we could put up with the length of our lives. Even if we lived for thousands or millions of years, or until the end of time, if we could live as children, we could live happily. So, we became like children, not to drive away wisdom, but because of it, and then, about five hundred years ago, everything changed."

"When Mr. No Fairy's mother came to the forest, running away from a horrible war, Saria was the first to notice her. I was the strongest of the kokiri, but even with my help, four others were needed to help bring her before the Deku Tree. That was where, under the gentle hands of Saria and the wise guidance of the Deku Tree, she gave birth to a baby named Link."

"I knew from the start that taking him in and raising him like a kokiri would be a mistake. Ten years passed, like the blink of an eye to immortals, and soon, my worst fears came true. The Deku Tree had been murdered, and Link had been the last to see him alive. Then, another seven years later, when he returned to the forest, he'd grown up, and I didn't even recognize him at first. He used his powers as an adult to save Saria, and help the rebirth of the Deku Tree, but even when he did that, I knew that something was wrong. It felt bad when I realized that a non-kokiri had saved Kokiri Forest, and I just got even more worried, when I realized that we could travel safely outside the forest."

"To others, and even to many of the other kokiri, the power to travel outside the forest was just a new element, to a game that was as old as time; a new power that the Deku Tree's resurrection had given us, but I saw something else in that power; something terrible. The kokiri would have contact with the outside world from then on. Still, Saria convinced me to accept that contact with a smile on my face, and hope in my heart, so although I was never the optimist she was, I tried my best to. The very night that Ganondorf was defeated, I made a trade agreement with the King Zora in a party at Lon Lon Ranch. Fruits, nuts, and herbs would be given to his people, in exchange for whatever new and interesting toys they might have. I think I mostly came up with that agreement to keep the kokiri inside the forest, though, so they wouldn't be corrupted by the outside world, but the hylian king met with me a while later, and told me that they didn't want to hurt us, or change our way of life, and I still think he was being honest, but I was too used to making promises with other kokiri. It didn't occur to me that that monarch's reign might be over in the blink of an eye."

"When the flood came, the kokiri used their power to raise a section of the forest from the sea floor, but a lot was still lost. At that point, the kokiri were divided into two factions; the ones who wanted to extend a hand of peace to the hylians left in the Great Sea, and the ones who wanted to return to living in seclusion, just like we'd done for thousands of years. Unfortunately, we were divided pretty evenly, and once again, I let Saria's optimism persuade me into being a liaison to the isles of the hylians, but soon, I learned that the public opinion of the sages of Hyrule had changed for the worst. People started to blame Saria and the other sages for what had happened to Hyrule, and I learned that they were becoming more and more obsessed with money. Soon, they'd made a whole society based on money, although it was pretty small and frail, and I saw that every time I tried to explain who I was, and what I wanted, someone tried to buy the secret to my immortality, or my limited knowledge of magic. On my last day on Windfall Isle, one of the hylian isles of the Great Sea, I was ambushed by a group of bandits. They were the darkest side of personal gain. There were three of them, but they underestimated my skills; a lot like you just did a few minutes ago, so I escaped from them. Still, I lost a lot of my energy through a leg wound that one of them gave me at the time."

"Saria had tried to befriend a few others on another island, but she'd run into trouble, just like me, and when we returned to the Forest Haven, we'd both changed our minds. From then on, I refused to have anything to do with those modern, beastly 'hylians,' and even Saria, who'd been such an optimist before then, agreed that they were a lost cause."

"By then, almost two thirds of the kokiri who were left realized that the hylians didn't understand peace or care about wisdom anymore, so we left that island to sail to the far corners of the sea. Some stayed behind, but more to help the Deku Tree than because they thought the hylians were worth looking after. Apparently, just a little while after that, they started working to stabilize the environment of the Great Sea, so they started to look like plants, and had a lot less time for simple fun. I heard that much from Makar, although he was made by the Deku Tree less than a hundred years ago."

"But when you said that line about wanting everything for yourself, you sounded just like those robbers that tried to ambush me. That image of those robbers is the one I've had in my mind for the past several centuries, every time I think about the hylians, and that line… that face you did... It brought it all back again."

As he finished his tale, however, Mido sighed, and eventually said, "I'm sorry. I ruined the game. I've never done that before."

"That's alright." the captain replied, however, trying to act as much like a forgiving child as possible, "We can play it again when you're feeling better. Will you still tell us what we need to know?"

That seemed to cheer Mido up a little, so he hopped back up to a standing position on top of the rock and grinned, saying "Well, I still don't really trust you, but sure, I'll tell you what you want. The truth is, Makar's been coming here off and on over the past few months. Seems he's getting tired of living his life, and wants to know how I manage to put up with eternity. I guess it's kinda hard to describe, but he's been struggling to be more like me this whole time."

Medli and the captain exchanged a quick glance. Neither of them was sure how they'd feel if Makar started acting like Mido, and they were a little worried when they heard that he was tired of life.

"Tired of life?" the captain asked, voicing his confusion, "You mean he's depressed."

"No, no. Nothing like depression." Mido replied with a wave of his hand, "If you're depressed, you feel bad about something that's going on in your life. But you see, when you get to be about a hundred years old without a wrinkle to show for it, you have to face the fact that you'll be around for a long time. It's like a second teenage years, except even worse. In your teenage years, you have to work hard to come up with a way of life you can enjoy for the rest of your life, but once you pass the hundred year mark, it really comes into focus just how long you're going to be around. Then you have to work even harder, because you have to come up with a way of life you can enjoy forever."

"That doesn't sound so hard." the captain replied, although Mido started to chuckle the moment he'd said that.

"You're young. You don't know how hard it is." Mido responded at once, "The truth is, there ain't anything you can enjoy forever. Not art, nor science, nor magic, nor duty, nor exploration, nor nothing. If you take the universe around you too seriously, all those things feel empty after the first hundred and fifty years."

The captain gulped hard as he heard the ancient kokiri say that. He could tell that Mido was an authority on the subject.

"So the only solution to the problem" Mido replied, "is to not take stuff so serious; to be like a kid. Then, you can enjoy any kind of peaceful life, even if it lasts forever."

"That's why you look and act like a kid." the captain correctly guessed, inviting a "thumbs-up" gesture from Mido.

"Yeah." he replied, "That's also the problem the koroks are having now. They've spent almost two hundred years trying to improve their environment, and it's starting to feel lame. If they even want to survive, they need to learn that immortality ain't a tool for solving problems, but a problem to be solved."

The captain thought about that for a few moments. It had never occurred to him that eternal life could be maddening. He'd always known that there were problems with the world, but he'd thought of eternal life as some incredible prize to be attained. At least, that was the way it was treated in stories. However, there sat an immortal; capable of feats of wisdom beyond most of the people he'd ever met, yet personally constrained in what he could do by his own need to keep from taking anything too seriously, in order to remain sane. That was when the captain realized that it was certainly better to be mortal. For all its weaknesses, mortality provided one with the ability to pursue goals and purposes, which an immortal wouldn't be able to do, according to Mido. Better to attain immortality through one's children, who could bring fresh enthusiasm into the world for worthy causes.

"How long do you suppose it'll be before Makar gets back?" the captain asked after he'd taken a few moments to think about what Mido had said.

"Beats me." Mido replied, lounging on the rock on his back, with both hands behind his head as he spoke, "He tends to show up two or three times a week."

"May we stay until he arrives?"

"Knock yourself out, but I ain't got any beds, so you might not be comfy overnight."

"Don't worry about it." the captain replied, however, "I'm used to sleeping in the sand."

However, just as the captain was about to sit down on the beach, something else occurred to him, and he returned to Mido, and poked him in the shoulder, trying to get his attention. Mido seemed surprised to see that the young sailor wanted to talk some more, but when he sat up to face him, the captain only had two words to say.

"Thank you."

"For what? The info? No biggie."

"No. Not the information. Thank you for... you know... for the game."

At once, Mido's eyes glimmered with satisfaction, and he flung both hands into the air, and let out a surprisingly-loud laugh. The captain, at first, was shocked by that, and didn't know what to make of it, but as Mido turned back to face him, he could read the ancient kokiri's real feelings in his immortal eyes. He was laughing, because he was immensely pleased that the captain had seen the game as what it was; a boon to his own state of mind; not just a hurtle to be overcome.

"No problem." Mido replied by the time he'd stopped laughing, "You looked like you needed it."

That was why, that night, when the captain was able to get himself to sleep on the sands of Hollow Isle, he was in better spirits than he'd been in for months.

* * *

By the time the captain woke up the next morning, Medli was already up and about. She'd found some fresh apples that Mido had grown with the plant magic he knew, and was cutting them into slices with a knife she'd brought with her. The small, double-bladed knife was obviously intended to be used as a weapon, but in that case, using it as a kitchen utensil probably wouldn't hurt.

However, when the captain saw Medli preparing those apples, he realized something else, which he hadn't considered before. Mido and Saria could both grow plants with their magic. Maybe combined with Medli's powers as the sage of earth, and if the sage of water could use his powers to create some fresh water, then...

The captain was sure that Mido wasn't a sage, nor was he one of the people who the captain had to deliver bad news to, but he realized just then that his people needed Mido's help too, just as much as the help of the sages. Mido might not be able to take things seriously, but if people paid close enough attention when he made things grow, maybe they could learn to do it too. The thought excited the captain so much, that he knew he had to try to convince Mido to come with him.

"Hey, Mido!" the captain yelled across the island, to where the kokiri boy was practicing waving the stick from the day before, as if doing that would make him better at their game. When he heard the captain's voice, he ran over towards him, still clutching the stick in one hand.

"What's up, buddy?" Mido asked.

"It's 'Link,' actually," the captain replied, to Mido's apparent amusement, "but I actually wanted to ask if you'd come with me when I leave the island."

"Well, where are you headed?" Mido asked.

"Probably back to Isle Prime." the captain replied, although Mido didn't exactly look pleased with that idea.

"Ick." Mido responded, giving the captain a sardonic expression, and a thumbs-down signal, "Uh-uh. Noooo way. That place is crawling with grown-ups. I'd never get to have any fun."

"But you haven't heard what's been happening recently," the captain tried to explain, "You see, the Hero of Time showed up, and he's trying to unite the islands to help them survive the food shortage, and Ganondorf's recent reappearance, and Isle Prime's mostly united in giving up the merchant's way of life already. Now we're just looking for people who can help us out, and I think you'd be able to help a lot, and we could help you too. We could teach you all sorts of new games. It'd be loads of fun."

The captain deliberately said that very fast, and in as carefree a tone of voice as he could muster, because he suspected that that might strike a chord with Mido, and sure enough, the old kokiri was grinning pretty soon.

"Well," he said halfheartedly, "I'll think about it, but no promises, okay?"

"I got it." the captain replied, shaking Mido's hand in appreciation of his willingness to consider those new developments. Mido looked like a child who'd just been told that he could come back to the dinner table for desert, and not have to eat his vegetables for that night. It was obvious that he believed what the captain had just told him, and was thinking as carefully as he could about how it would affect him.

However, before Mido could finish his thought, the captain heard a noise, like a chopping sound in the air, as if someone were swinging a paddle back and forth through the sky with great speed, and the captain still remembered where he'd heard that sound before; what one thing, in all the Great Sea, made that sound. He remembered so well, that he looked upwards almost on instinct, and there was Makar, flying through the air on a magical leaf branch, which spun like a helicopter to keep him aloft.

The captain smiled when he saw Makar, because his arrival represented the end of that phase of his journey. After that, he could take those who wanted to accompany him back to Isle Prime, and they could start making preparations to rescue Tetra.

However, something was wrong with Makar's leaf branch. Instead of carrying him swiftly forward, like it had in the old days, it was bobbing up and down, as though the weight of its occupant was too much for it. However, the captain had to wonder how that could be. Makar was a korok, after all, and koroks weighed less than a pound, and the magic leaf should have been able to carry him, even if he'd weighed five times as much as that. Besides, Makar was uncommonly small and light, even for a korok. That was curious, so it piqued the captain's interest. Mido was apparently less surprised, but just as interested in Makar's arrival, so he strutted over to where the korok was about to land, and started ignoring the captain again.

"Hey, buddy!" Mido exclaimed, the minute Makar had landed, "Bring any good toys?"

The captain rushed over as quickly as he could, and at once, he saw why the leaf had been straining under Makar's weight. He didn't even look like Makar anymore. The only thing about him that looked the same was his face; the same deep green leaf with the holes in it, which the captain could remember talking to in the old days. Every other part of Makar's body was littered with patches of what closely resembled flesh. Mido had said that koroks and kokiri were both the same at one point; both spirits of the forest, with the power to change their shapes, which might have been the source of Makar's odd, new shape, and his flight problems. Was he transforming into something else, the captain wondered? Could he be changing into something that weighed more than five, or even ten or twenty pounds. Was he transforming into something humanoid, and if so, why?

The captain continued to wonder those things as Makar replied to Mido's question, "You bet! Look at this one!"

Link could see that Makar had brought a few small, wooden items with him, which spun, clicked or bounced more than they looked like they should be able to, and for every one that he produced, Mido would say something like, "Ooh! This one's stylish," or "Not bad. I might be able to make up a game for this," or for a couple that he truly didn't like, he'd say something along the lines of "I won't get an hour of fun out of this. You can have it."

If the captain hadn't, by that time, understood the reasoning behind Mido's behavior, he would have thought that the old kokiri was being very rude, but the truth was that Mido didn't have a lot of choice. That was his life, and he was powerless to change it if he wanted to continue living at all.

The whole time that the two of them looked over the dozen or so small objects that Makar had brought with him, Mido had totally forgotten to mention the captain or Medli, or the game they'd played together the day before, so it was left up to Makar to noticed the captain's presence on the isle, without any help from his kokiri host. It was, therefore, almost fifteen seconds before Makar saw the captain, several yards away, and gasped in shocked recognition.

"Link?" Makar asked, in amazement, and what looked a bit like embarrassment, "Is that you? It's me, Makar! I know I look a little different, but please don't be afraid. I don't want to hurt anyone."

The captain just smiled and nodded. They both looked a little different than they had the last time they'd met, but it wasn't any reason to panic.

By that time, Medli had heard the commotion, and rushed over to see what was going on, but between herself and Makar, the reunion was much less a reunion of worry, and pretty full of good cheer. After all, they'd been keeping in touch, and even if Medli hadn't know the full details about whatever unusual experiments or transformations Makar was going through, she had at least been on friendly terms with him recently. In terms of how Makar felt about the captain, all he remembered was a little boy who hadn't had all the answers, and rarely considered things at all. That mature young man, growing into a hero bore very little resemblance to the Link he'd known, and Makar had supposed, for a moment, that they must have been different people. It wasn't just a physical change for either of them. Each had changed the very nature of how they reacted to the world around them since the last time they'd met, and that wouldn't be easy to get used to.

"Makar; you don't need to worry about Link." Medli assured him, "He knows it's you, and he's different now than he was then. He's read my feelings a few times over the past couple days too. He's growing up."

"Great." Makar muttered, with no enthusiasm at all in his voice, and the captain could tell why that was. Makar obviously wanted to keep his feelings private at that point.

Of course, by then, both Medli and the captain could clearly see that something was wrong with Makar, and that he was worried, so after a few moments, Medli pressed the matter.

"What's wrong, Makar?" Medli asked, as sympathetically as she could, "Why are you so sad?"

Makar shot the captain what was probably meant to be a look of mistrust, but seemed to realize that he couldn't avoid his problems forever, and he was face to face with one of his best friends in the whole wide world for the first time in several months, so he soon decided to tell her his story, regardless, it seemed, of what the captain thought.

"Okay." Makar said at last, "The truth is, ever since the catastrophe eight years ago, I've been worrying more and more about evil in the world, and not just Ganondorf; all sorts of evil things. Thieves, bandits, killers and stuff were all part of it. I've been worrying about all the problems we have, and it's not just that. I tried not to think about evil things and bad problems, but the korok way of life is all about helping to solve environmental problems. I couldn't just stop thinking about it. I tried to focus on what I was doing, instead of why for over a year, but that didn't work either. At first, I didn't feel quite so bad, but then pretty soon, I was sad again. I just kept getting sadder and sadder, and I didn't know why. It was like I was tired of living."

"I tried talking to the other koroks about it, but the weird thing was that it seemed like most of them knew exactly what I was talking about, and they weren't any closer to a solution than I was. I tried asking the Deku Tree, but he was kind of evasive for some reason."

"Then I heard rumors about an immortal boy who lived on Hollow Isle, and understood the secrets of surviving immortality, so I left the Forest Haven and began a long journey here. At first, I thought Mido was going to ask for some kind of reward in exchange for his secrets; money, artifacts or something, but he wasn't interested in any of that old junk. All he wanted was to have fun, so after a while, I think I learned to have fun too. Problem is, pretty soon, I won't be able to fly anymore."

"What's causing this transformation anyway, Makar?" Medli asked curiously.

"As near as I can figure," Makar explained, "it's the result of my own change in mindset. Koroks and kokiri are the same race of people, and our forms change to reflect what's in our hearts. I suppose that as I think more and more like a child, I'll start to look more like a child too."

"Now it's my turn to ask questions." Makar continued, looking, somehow, more concerned as he spoke, "Not that I'm not glad to see you, Medli, but why come all the way out here? Are you looking for something?"

"Actually..." Medli muttered for a moment, but instead of replying, she nodded in the direction of the captain, to indicate that he should be the one to answer Makar's question.

"We've just discovered something about the powers of the sage of wind." the captain said sadly, though he was still determined to tell Makar the truth, "I'm afraid you're not going to like this, but I was given a vision some time ago, and..."

So, for a little while, Link told the story of who'd conceived the powers of the sage of wind, and then finished up with when and why. As he finished speaking, he said, "I'm sorry. You'll probably hate me even more now, Makar, but you deserve to know the truth."

However, far from hating him, Makar ran up to the captain and hugged his legs with his odd, scratchy arms. The captain was so surprised, that he nearly fell over.

"Thank you." Makar said, with the closest thing to a smile that he seemed able to manage, "It means a lot to me that you'd be willing to tell me the truth."

At first, the captain was genuinely surprised that Makar was reacting so well to the news, but as the small korok released his legs and backed away again, the captain saw a look in his seemingly-hollow eyes, which seemed to broadcast a two-word message.

"I knew."

"You knew?" the captain exclaimed, stunned and flabbergasted, "You already knew all of that?"

Makar seemed to be thinking about lying for a moment, but finally decided that there wasn't much point.

"Yes." he replied, "I didn't have all the specifics like you do, but I knew the identity and power of the sage of wind weren't for unlocking the power of the Master Sword. I knew the sage of wind's fiddle had been used to control it, and I knew it had been crafted for selfish reasons."

"How did you find out?" the captain asked, still stunned.

"I told him." Mido remarked from nearby, as he put one hand on Makar's shoulder.

"Yes." Makar continued, starting to grin just a bit, "He did tell me, but I'd suspected it for a while before that. When he told me the truth, it was almost a relief to finally have my suspicions validated."

The captain smiled when he heard that, though. He'd suspected that Mido knew more about the people and history of the Great Sea than he was admitting, and what he'd just said was solid evidence of that. Still, on the whole, Mido seemed to want what was best, and was generally trustworthy. He could tell that much too. In fact, at that point more than ever, Link was sure that Mido and Makar were still needed to help the people of the Great Sea.

"Okay." the captain said aloud, smiling again, "Now, Makar; I've already made this offer to Mido, but I'm trying to help the people of the Great Sea live in a way that'll protect them against the threats of starvation and death that have been growing over the past few months, and I was hoping you and Mido could help me out with that. Even if you can't help us out any other way, then you could at least live with us in peace, alright?"

Makar looked over at Mido the moment he'd heard that request, who just shrugged in response, but after a few moments, Mido seemed to have decided that he did have something to say after all.

"I know I'll wind up kicking myself for this in a week," Mido said in a bitter tone of voice, "but okay; I'll give it a shot. As long as you have enough space in your ship to play around in, and I won't get bored."

"A person like you can't get bored, as long as you have your creativity and imagination," the captain replied, "but I think you'll find that the hold of our ship is almost completely empty."

* * *

Needless to say, Mido was extremely pleased to learn that Saria was on board the captain's ship as well, which only reinforced his decision to get on board himself. By evening, Makar found that he couldn't fly at all anymore, but for some reason, it didn't bother him that much; maybe because he was succeeding more and more in learning Mido's philosophy of not taking anything too seriously. He was growing to be less and less of a korok, and more and more of what he needed to be.

Mido, Saria and Makar spent many hours in the ship's hold playing a game, in which the two of them were stowaways, and the other was a watchman. The game was very similar to hide and go seek, but with a marine theme.

For a short while, the captain and Medli had played games with them as well, but they soon got tired, and returned to the deck to gaze out at the setting sun. The captain gave the orders to set sail for Isle Prime, and soon, they were on the move again.

"I can't help but wonder what will happen to the other koroks." the captain said, as he sat down on the deck next to where Medli, Thom and Harriet were.

"I suppose one of them will eventually learn to be carefree, and teach the others." Medli suggested, "Mido says it happened a long time ago, and it might happen again."

"Maybe." the captain replied, starting to cheer up a little, "I just hope they'll be okay."

* * *

It might have been because she'd been dwelling on what the captain had told her about his past all day, but Harriet was a little surprised to hear him speaking about the koroks with so much concern. It seemed like before her very eyes, the captain was learning the balance between compassion and discipline, and she knew they'd need that balance desperately if they wanted to survive in the future...


	27. Pt3 Ch10 His Missing Other Half

Chapter 10: His Missing Other Half

* * *

After having left the captain to his own devices, Link's days were consumed mostly by teleporting to many places in the Great Sea, talking with the inhabitants of those places, and teleporting elsewhere. His objective, of course, was to determine when, where and how Ganondorf had emerged from under the Sea, and although he suspected that the fish-men he was now commanding may have had something to do with it, he knew that if they were monsters, or if their hearts contained evil, they couldn't have been responsible for it by themselves. There was one barrier to Ganondorf's resurrection that they wouldn't have been able to overcome.

Before long, Link learned of Ganon's past actions against the hylians of the Great Sea, and that his emergence had first occurred, it seemed, in the islands to the south, because they were the first places that he'd attacked, so although Link knew he'd be witnessing horrible devastation, he teleported southward...

Link could already feel, even before he stepped out onto the first of the south islands that his feet would be making contact with more ash than healthy dirt, and that was exactly how it happened. As Link pulled back the curtain of flames that constituted the outer edges of the teleportation of fire, it seemed like ashes and half-burnt timbers were all that he could see. Ganondorf had obviously been to that isle. There had been a couple of trees before, but both were burned down to their roots. The rocks and foundations of former houses were charred all over with burn-marks, and even the air and water were grey and black with soot and destruction. There was an aura over everything, as though the entire place was still full of restless spirits. There wasn't even a single skeleton. Every person on the island had been annihilated, down to the marrow.

Link swallowed hard as the flames behind him vanished, and he began to walk through the land of ashes that lay before him. As uncomfortable as the climate of spiritual and physical turbulence on that island was for him, he had to keep all his senses at the alert while he was there; not that he expected an ambush. He was just looking for clues; clues that might lead him to the answers he needed.

Link looked around quickly and carefully, examining every inch of his surroundings. The charred splinters of the trees and fragments of houses caught his eye, but they held only a few clues, mostly to do with the methods used to destroy them, and the directions of the wind in that bleak area of the sea, since Ganondorf's "visit."

However, the direction of the wind gave Link another clue. Looking up into the sky, he could see that the same dark clouds that had horrified him so much at first were drawing a path of wind through the air; a path to the north.

"So." Link realized silently, "Whatever method Ganon's using to travel through the Great Sea, it's dragging the direction of the wind along with it. Obviously, he's very proud of his power, if he's showing it off in a visible way like that, but that's the most foolish thing I've seen him do in this century. It gives me the advantage of knowing where he's been and what he's done; a dangerous advantage to give to an opponent."

Link hadn't dared to speak those words aloud, because the air around him was full of ashes, so every time he opened his mouth, he found black soot on his tongue. However, he continued to think and plan nonetheless.

"Since it's Ganondorf's past I want to learn about." Link thought silently, "All I have to do is travel against the wind, and I'll find the place where he emerged from the ocean."

* * *

Mere moments later, Link found himself on yet another island, even further south. There, the wind patterns seemed to become less distinct, and Link knew that if that island didn't hold the answers he needed, he wouldn't find them at all above sea level.

That new island, like the many he'd passed over on the way to reach it, was a mass of smoke and ashes, full of the residue of pain and despair, which floated through the air along with the ashes themselves. It was a gloomy section of the world. No one dwelled there but the ghosts of the dead, who'd been in such horrible pain when they'd died, that Link could still feel it all around him. That, then, was the new legacy of Ganondorf; the king of darkness. No longer content to merely disrupt the order of the societies around him, Ganondorf's actions had taken a far darker turn. Robbed of his chance for hope, light and salvation for his heart, he'd begun to spread that endless despair onto every land he could find. He'd made it his goal to teach everyone the meaning of loss, anguish and hopelessness, and like everything else that Ganondorf attempted, he excelled at it.

As Link took in all the horrible destruction that surrounded him, he felt, in some ways, utterly reassured in the path that he'd chosen to take. Those people may have made mistakes in their lives, but they shouldn't have needed to be forced into lives of purposelessness and chaos, and they shouldn't have had to die. No level of revenge against Ganondorf could bring them back. Only one thing could do that.

Slowly, Link walked across the blackened beaches of the island he'd discovered, hoping for a fresh clue; any kind of clue that might serve to point him in the right direction, but most of the clues had been swept away by the terrible winds that Ganondorf had caused. Still, there was one clue he found, which explained several aspects of what had happened to that island at once. There was a trench in one of the beaches on the west end of the isle, and Link could tell at once, just by looking at it, that it had been made by more than one life-form dragging a stone pillar, or some other kind of statue out of the water. In the water, Link found the rest of his explanation. There, the trench wasn't so well-defined, but it was still perfectly clear; a groove under the waves; deeper than the sand around it.

At once, Link understood what had happened there. Ganondorf had been brought to the surface in the form of a stone statue; the same form that the captain said he'd taken when the captain had plunged the master sword into his head eight years before. Then, somehow, Ganondorf had been freed, but where, Link wondered, had the Master Sword itself gone?

As Link considered that question, he tried to think like Ganondorf, in the hopes of getting at the answer to the puzzle. What would Ganondorf have done? With the Master Sword somehow removed from his head, he could be restored to flesh... possibly even healed, given his powers. Then, his next act would be to attempt to get rid of the Master Sword, and since his heart was so blackened with darkness, he wouldn't be able to lift it himself, nor would any of his monsters. He'd either have to trick some pure-hearted person into getting rid of it for him, or else, build some manner of device, which could hurl it far out into the ocean.

With that thought fresh in his mind, Link continued to search the beaches, until he found what he was looking for; a great deal of burnt timber, all in one place, and fairly far away from the houses. It may have been the remains of a catapult; perhaps even one that Ganondorf had used to launch the Master Sword into the ocean. Already, the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. Link could see how Ganondorf had returned almost as if he'd been there. Those fish-beasts, monsters and servants of the king of evil had found his statue under the waves, and dragged it to shore, little by little over many years. There, they'd left it until some unsuspecting, good person had found it, and removed the sword, maybe even a little boy or girl, or a just man or woman. Ganondorf had then focused his magic on his own revival, and pretty soon, was back in normal flesh. Then, after a period of healing, helped in no small part by his horrible, magic powers, he'd gotten the people to build that catapult somehow, or perhaps had ordered monsters to do it instead, then used it to fling the Master Sword into the ocean. Once it was gone, he'd laid waste to that poor island, and begun his journey north.

That, in turn, meant that the Master Sword was back underneath the waves again, but where, exactly, or how far away, Link could only guess. Still, no matter how far it was, he had a feeling that it was too deep to dive to, even for him. He'd need to explore the underwater area around that island somehow, but the problem would be how to do that.

The wooden device that the captain's crew had found and captured in the ocean was a submarine; a device intended for underwater exploration. Link knew that much. He also suspected that controlling it wouldn't be terribly hard, once he'd gotten his hands on the controls of the device, and actually tried them out. The problem was that at the moment, there were over three hundred miles of distance between the island he was on and the submarine, and crossing that distance would take many days by sailboat; time he didn't have.

Just then, however, another idea came to Link. He didn't know if it would work; in fact, he was pretty sure it wouldn't. He also knew that even attempting it would put many of his friends and allies through a horrible strain to their powers and skills, but it was the only way of bringing the submarine all that way in very little time.

Memorizing the location of that island, Link began the fire teleportation again, and at once, he was soaring through the air as a stream of fast-moving molecules, heading for isle Prime...

* * *

Stepping off that blackened soil, and onto the ground of Isle Prime was like stepping out of the darkness and into the light. When Link had first arrived in that time period, Isle Prime had seemed like a dismal place, not because the weather was continually bleak, although it certainly was, but because people living there had begun to lose their hope. However, since uniting the people of that isle under a banner of cooperation, and finding others in the Great Sea to aid them in their quest for survival, Link could tell that things had improved for those people; not just for their chances of survival, but the feelings of community and brotherhood were beginning to emerge in them as well. They were feelings that had been lost for hundreds of years; feelings that had been the very life-blood of the hylians of Hyrule, and which Link could feel pulsing all around himself as he walked through the town in the center of Isle Prime. Everywhere, people were talking, working, making plans, and so forth, and the whole way, Link felt the spirit of unity and brotherhood around himself so strongly, that he could almost have fooled himself into thinking he was back in Hyrule again, wandering through Hyrule Castle Town on another training session. Still, he wasn't home, and there were things about his real home that couldn't be replaced; things that beckoned him to return to it; things he couldn't deny or ignore. His destiny still lay with the Hyrule of the past; that much he knew. The only question was whether he'd be able to protect it, or whether Ganondorf would claim final victory.

Ultimately, the answer to that question lay with the people of Isle Prime; the people whose help he needed.

* * *

Having done so much for those people under the name of "Menar," and since none of the newcomers to the island had revealed his true identity, Link found himself greatly respected among the leaders who dwelled on Isle Prime. The council of Isle Prime had not only, it turned out, welcomed the arrival of the people of water and fire, but had opened two new council seats for the sages of fire and water, so Link found himself speaking in council with nine leaders, instead of just the seven he'd met before. Just as Link had predicted when he'd first arrived on that isle, in the face of that terrible danger to their very lives, the people had dissolved the ancient banishments and prejudices, and learned very quickly how to live together in perfect cooperation. From the necessity for survival had sprung the true light once again; the light of the hylian way.

After meeting with the full council to discuss the resources he needed for his latest venture, Link met with the sages of water and fire alone in a secluded room, however, because he knew that he needed help from both of them much more directly.

"I'm need both of you to help me with this." Link said with a worried look on his face. After a moment, he turned to look the goron Link; the sage of fire, full in the face, and continued, addressing him, "I need you and your people to help me teleport something very large and heavy, for a great distance. Can you do that?"

"I'd have to see it to be sure." the goron replied, however.

"It's about the size and weight of this room." Link described quickly, "It's a submarine."

The Goron whistled for a moment, and muttered, "It'll take every one of us working together, and even then, it'll be close. Certainly, it'll be a strain on all of us. What could be so important? What do you need it for?"

Link tried to keep a straight face, but inside, he was frowning. He'd expected that question, of course, and if those people were going to go out of their way for him, they deserved a straight answer; an answer that could satisfy them, and an answer that was true. However, Link knew that he couldn't tell them the full truth, or else, they'd think he was mad, so instead, he decided to tell them the part of the truth that would make the biggest difference to them.

"Okay." he said at last, "I'll tell you. You see, for the past few days, I've been trying to track down a very ancient and powerful artifact; an artifact that has the power to defend hundreds of innocent people. I think I've learned its location, but in order to recover it, I'll need a means of traveling deep underwater, and even then, it's many hundreds of miles from here. As for the identity of that artifact, it's the greatest weapon ever forged for driving back evil."

"Your old weapon, the Master Sword." the goron fire sage concluded, much to Link's amazement, "Yes. Having it back might give us an edge, so to speak. Legends once said that the Master Sword could grant strange and frightening powers to a true hero. That's worth the work."

"And I take it that you've requested my help in actually retrieving the item." Obo added.

"That's right." Link replied, pleased that the sages were so quick to pick up on the nature of his plans, "If and when we find it, you can clear the water away from the sword, creating an air pocket. Then, my safety will depend on you. I'll leave the submarine and retrieve the blade. Do you think you can do that?"

"That and more." Obo replied with a firm nod, "Alright, then. I'll join you as well."

"Good." Link replied, smiling again, "You can meet me on the docks in one hour with as many fire warriors as you can spare. Then, I'll let you know where we're headed next, alright?"

Of course, the purely rhetorical question was taken as such, so the three of them left the room to see to their respective jobs. They'd each have quite a bit to do before they were ready to make the trip, but an hour was more than enough time to get it done.

* * *

Harriet saw the balls of fire start to form on deck, and was, at first, so convinced that they were under attack, that she transformed on instinct, good enough at it by that point, that she lost no control during the transition, but as the figures stepped forth from the balls of fire, and she recognized who they were, she calmed down, and reverted to normal. Swiftly, she called to the captain, to come out on deck and greet their allies, and it only took him a few seconds to accomplish that.

There was almost a kind of temporal symmetry to the sight of the Hero of Time on one side of the deck, with the dozens of fire warriors behind him, along with the sages of fire and water, and the captain on the other side of the deck, surrounded by his crew, who continued to go about their tasks. They clearly knew that something important was about to happen, but they still had jobs to perform, which wouldn't do themselves. At last, Link smiled while looking into the captain's eyes. Though he hadn't known it at first, the captain had been the student of the Hero of Time, and had learned lessons from him that would have otherwise taken him many decades to learn. He'd gained a great deal of experience and maturity, just from working with him, and although there was still some discomfort between them, neither was going to be rude to the other. The captain had once seen the Hero of Time as an endless mystery, but at that point, he was an ally. Link had once seen the captain as a foolish young man, but at that point, he was backup.

* * *

"So, you're back for the submarine?" the captain correctly supposed.

Link nodded, and then gazed over at Medli, who was tightening a rope at the other side of the ship.

"I see you've told your friends the bad news." Link observed.

"That's right. We ran into one of your friends too. He's in the hold at this point, playing some game or other with Saria and Makar."

It didn't take Link long to deduce which friend the captain was talking about, and he loosed a half-smile in surprise and delight at that point.

"I haven't seen Mido for a long time." Link remarked, still smiling, "But I know it's been longer since he's seen me. Did he remember me?"

"Actually, yes. He called you 'Mr. No Fairy.'"

"Interesting. Mido doesn't usually remember things that well."

As Link made that observation, the captain's face fell. He could see, at that moment, that the reason why Mido remembered Link so well was because Link had been the herald of the era of separation for his people. It was a sad fate for a good man to be remembered that way, but there wasn't much that the captain could really do about it. They couldn't change the past, after all.

"The fire warriors will be working to teleport the submarine for a few minutes." Link said, after studying the captain's eyes for a little while.

"Teleport it? Then you'll need to take it pretty far away."

Link smiled. In the old days, that simple deduction had been beyond the captain, but he was becoming a fine man as time went on.

"Very far." Link replied, "Hundreds of miles to the south."

"What should I do in the meantime?" the captain asked, "Will you be taking the sages with you?"

"No." Link responded, however, shaking his head slowly, "The sages of fire and water will come with me, but the rest can stay on this vessel. You still have that admiral friend of yours to save, though, and I suppose that once we leave, it'll be as good a time as any to try."

"What?" The captain asked, shocked that Link would even suggest it; him, going up against Ganondorf and his monsters alone, "You mean, by myself? I mean..."

"No." Link replied, "You won't be alone. That's the first thing that it means to be a hero. Heroes are never alone. There are always others who'll help them, because they care about people other than just themselves. I know you have some powerful friends who can help you fight this foe. Besides, Ganondorf doesn't have the Triforce of Power anymore. That should give you at least a slight edge."

Even as Link said that, however, the captain knew that he was just being generous. Ganondorf was a veteran warrior and sorcerer hundreds of years old, and to even come close to beating him would take all the power and skill that group could muster, not to mention a decent helping of good luck. Still, whether he found the Master Sword or not, Link would probably be back soon, to make sure they were safe, and besides, the rescue of Tetra was something of a personal affair for the captain. Link must have thought that it wouldn't be prudent to interfere in that mission unless he absolutely had to.

"Well..." the captain muttered, after thinking it over for a while, "I hope you're right."

He was still struggling to find a way to attain a decent self-confidence without going overboard into pride, but he felt closer to an answer to that problem every second. Ever since the Hero of Time had entered his life, it was as though he'd found the right track, and been traveling on it full speed. He'd improved so much, in such a short amount of time, that it felt positively unnatural. In some ways, that worried the captain, even though he was certainly glad to be learning about things like responsibility, humility, bravery, observation, and so forth. Those were lessons than anyone should be glad, at least in part, to learn. Still, something inside of him gnawed at the progress he'd made, and he couldn't quite determine what it was.

However, there was one thing that pleased the captain through and through, and that was knowing that they were about to turn their attention towards Tetra. For most of his life, Tetra had been the one person he could always confide in; a person who, if rough around the edges, was powerfully devoted to following the path that her heart outlined for her, and as such, once you got to know her, she was extremely easy to predict. Very few of Tetra's friends and associates knew her well enough to predict her like that, but the captain did, and he could feel that if he could just rescue her, then that would bring him one step closer to the end of that adventure.

Of course, that only made him glad. Adventures were certainly not boring, and that one had breathed a life into his soul, unlike anything he'd ever felt, but along with that life had come a very personal pain and loss, the likes of which he hadn't experienced since the death of his grandmother. Some pains never really healed, and the captain could feel that already, his spirit had been changed so completely, that he might never return to being the carefree soul he'd been before it all began. Not only that, but each new quest and mission brought more and more new pains, driving his soul further and further from what it used to be, and so, in his mind, the sooner that adventure was over, the better. The disappointments were too great and numerous for him to bear.

* * *

The teleportation of the submarine to the southern island that Link had discovered was certainly the most difficult teleportation Link had ever experienced. Even though there were dozens of fire warriors working together, combining their powers around the submarine, like links in a mighty chain, the mass and weight of the craft was so great, that it took all their effort to accomplish the task, and even then, only just barely, as every single one of the fire warriors could feel the accelerated molecules that formed their bodies in mid-teleport darting back and forth, out of alignment now and then, then back into place. The sensation of that was something like being twisted around by powerful currents, which fought within a few feet of each other, only more jarring, and not exactly physical. Just when they seemed about to give out, the submarine reappeared in physical form, and they began to follow shortly after. As their entire group landed in the water next to the southern island, Link, and in fact, most of the fire warriors as well, breathed a sigh of relief. Within a few seconds, those who'd fallen off the submarine swam to shore, and the others carefully climbed inside its massive, wooden frame.

Of course, Link knew that a wooden submarine wouldn't take him too far underwater. That much was obvious. Hopefully, though, it would take him just deep enough to find what he was looking for. At that point, the submarine was only important in terms of how it could help him find the Master Sword.

As Link examined the control room of the submarine, with its various buttons, guages and levers, every single one made from wood and glass, he found himself wondering what its creators had been thinking. Metal; even iron was a far better material for building underwater crafts. Still, Link hadn't seen any smithies in all his time exploring the Great Sea. Could it be, he wondered, that people had simply forgotten how to forge things from metal in that time period? Everything Link learned about that future world validated him more and more in the decision he'd made; at least in his mind.

One thing that Link noticed almost at once, was that although the controls weren't very complex, they were obviously intended to be operated by someone of great strength; probably a moblin, or other extremely strong monster.

"It's a shame my golden gauntlets are back in my own time period." Link thought silently, though he chose not to dwell too much on what could have been. For the moment, he'd have to deal with what he had on hand.

"Link." The Hero of Time said, calling the fire sage to his side, "Are you strong enough to use these controls?"

The goron spent some time looking over the controls at that point. They were mostly cranks, levers and buttons made of a very sturdy type of wood, but the toughest part of the submarine to operate would undoubtedly be the crank at the side of the room. It seemed to provide them with forwards momentum when turned clockwise, backwards when turned counterclockwise. There were other controls for traveling in other directions, of course, but that crank was the heaviest, so it was the hardest to move.

"Sure." the goron replied, after having tested each control out a little, "I'm strong enough, but how do they work?"

The Hero of Time and Link; survivor of the gorons spent a few minutes learning the controls of the submarine; like which buttons and levers turned what parts of the fins. With practice, and a little skill, the submarine could, it seemed, be made to travel in any direction in all three dimensions, so controlling it took some getting used to, but the two Links had more than enough ingenuity between them, so they'd conquered that obstacle inside of fifteen minutes.

After that was done, and the fire sage had learned to operate the submarine expertly on his own through about five minutes of practice, the only real task was deciding who else would go underwater with Link. Obviously, the fire and water sages would both come, but Link decided that it might be best if the rest of the fire warriors remained on the southern island, while they searched for the Master Sword, and the fire sage had quickly agreed. Underwater, they'd be out of their element, and might even get in the way. They'd certainly use up more air than necessary, so when the submarine sank underneath the waves, watching the clear, pristine depths of the undersea world rise up to greet it, only three people were on board to witness its beauty.

Of course, even once they were underwater, it was difficult to know where, precisely, to go. The general direction that the blade must have been flung was obvious from the location of the burnt timbers onshore, but they were such a mess, that figuring out the strength of the catapult had been impossible, so they simply had to continue traveling forward, away from the island in the correct direction, and examining the ocean bottom all the way.

The problem with that was that the water was unlike any water that Link had ever seen in his time period. It was murky and lifeless, No crustaceans, no fish, no whales or dolphins seemed to live in it, and it was almost impossible to see any more than two feet through it. Even once Obo began using his powers to create a path of clear air in front of them, which they could use as a searchlight, it was slow-going, and the change in weight around them caused the entire submarine to shift uncomfortably whenever he did that.

Still, they pressed forward, searching back and forth for their target, dedicated to the task at hand, so it was only a matter of time before they found something.

Obo had passed his search-bubble back and forth, as he had many times before, using his magic to push away the water between the craft and the seabed, when Link suddenly exclaimed "There! Go back."

Immediately, Obo passed the search bubble back over where it had just been, and he could see a small glint of blue.

"That might be it." Link observed quietly, "Obo, I'll need you to keep the water away from me while I leave the submarine and check this out. From the looks of things, it's been mostly buried under the sand, but if that's really it, it's worth taking a look."

"Be careful out there." Obo warned him, as he created an air bubble just outside the submarine's exit, to admit Link.

The Hero of Time closed the submarine hatch as he left, and proceeded along the edge of the submarine. As he continued along, the bubble of fresh air followed him, indicating that Obo could probably tell where he was in that underwater world. Quickly, he leapt to the wet sand below, and rushed towards the glint he'd seen before.

However, something was wrong. The sand in that area had shifted position. He could still see that the object he wanted was there, but he could also sense that someone else was there as well.

Link looked around as fast as he could, and suddenly, he saw a figure standing in the water nearby. It was a strange, man-like creature, with what looked like gills on its arms and legs. Its skin was bright green, it had webbed feet and hands, and as it spoke, Link heard it loud and clear.

"No need for that paltry air bubble here, Hero of Time. You've just stepped into my power, and anyone in my power can breathe in any environment."

Link wasn't about to take that creature at his word, of course, so he just asked, "Who are you?"

"Unpene." The strange being said, "I was brought to life to guard the treasure that you're probably searching for."

"Brought to life by Ganondorf, no doubt." Link muttered, placing one hand on the hilt of his blade.

"No doubt." Unpene replied, "I'm the water master, so if you get near that sword, you're in some deep trouble."

"I don't care how powerful you are," Link replied, "I need the Master Sword."

"You can't have it." Unpene just replied stubbornly, however, closing both eyes.

"You seem intelligent enough." Link said, trying his best to avoid a fight, "What's Ganondorf giving you for this task? How much is he paying you?"

"That's almost an insult." Unpene remarked, however, "This job represents more to me than simple money by far."

"Then what?" Link asked, trying to draw him out, "Power? Friends? My motives make sense, but I can't figure yours out. Most of my friends died in the flood, and I'm determined to do the best I can to stop the killing."

"You know full well that you're not the only one who suffered from the flood," Unpene replied at once, however, "and no matter who or what you've lost, it can't be anything compared to what I've lost."

Unpene clearly intended to say no more about it than that, but Link already knew enough to interpret what he'd been reading in the creature's eyes; his soul mate. That poor, gullible person had lost his soul mate during the flood, and Ganondorf had promised that he'd resurrect her, in exchange for that service. If it weren't so tragic, Link might have laughed at him.

"You poor fool." Link said flatly, at last, "Ganondorf doesn't care about you, or what you want. He'll never restore your soul mate to you. He wants to destroy everyone."

"He'll honor our agreement!" Unpene spat out, obviously furious by that point, "When we're together again, that'll be all that matters!"

"To you, that might be the case." Link replied firmly, "But the world is dying around us. Ganondorf has every intention of continuing to bring about more and more death as time goes on. Do you honestly think your soul mate would just overlook the fact that you helped him do all those horrible things?"

"You don't have a soul mate!" Unpene yelled back, "You don't know..."

"Of course I have a soul mate!" Link replied, equally irritated by that point, "Don't be stupid! We're soul mates, though, because we know and love each other, and because we value and work towards the same ends, and because each of us admires the other. I'd never want to risk upsetting that equation. Will you?"

It was a terrifying truth; cold and biting, and Unpene roared, as he lunged at Link just then, more to escape from that truth, that for any other reason. At that moment, the bubble around Link dissipated into smaller bubbles, and began drifting to the surface, and Link was worried that Obo had lost his power at first, but as he looked around, he couldn't see the submarine anywhere. Somehow, it had been forced away.

Still, there was one bit of good news. Although there wasn't much air around Link, he found that, just as Unpene had said, he wasn't having a tough time breathing. Still, if he slew his enemy, that power would undoubtedly vanish, but if he didn't, he'd probably be killed right then and there, so his mind was made up. He'd have to vanquish his opponent, and then just deal with whatever happened after that.

Quickly, Link searched around for Unpene, who seemed to have vanished the moment the air bubble had disappeared from around him. However, before long, he felt something hard and sharp scrape against his leg, and leapt sideways as fast as he could in that underwater environment. Even though Link couldn't see his legs through the murky water, he knew that he was bleeding; at least a little, and the poisonous salts of the water around him were making that all the more painful. Obviously, he was at several great disadvantages in that ocean environment. Thanks to the murkiness of the water, he was as good as blind down there, and in addition, it was slowing him down a great deal as well, but obviously, his opponent wasn't having either of those problems. Faced with such terrible impediments, Link knew that he had only one choice for what to do next.

* * *

Unpene had backed off a little at that point, and was studying his enemy. For some reason, the newcomer had shut his eyes. Still, he probably wouldn't be able to react fast enough to another attack like that, no matter what he did.

Once again, Unpene drove forward, towards his foe, and lashed out with one of the two sharp knives that he was using as weapons...

Suddenly, however, Link had begun to swim upward, and was circling back around behind Unpene. Quickly attempting to react, Unpene darted back towards him through the water, only to find Link passing him on one side. Then, he drew a sword, and in a single, swift motion, lashed out at his foe from behind.

Unpene was surprised at the speed with which Link was moving. It wasn't that he had some sort of supernatural strength, but he seemed to be adapting easily to the unusual currents and circumstances of being far underwater, and was riding out the water pressure; using it to his advantage, instead of trying to fight it, as most land-based life-forms did. It had given him a momentary edge, in spite of his total blindness.

However, Unpene was still faster that Link underwater, and his edge wasn't enough to give him victory right away. He saw the attack coming, and quickly darted upward, away from the blade, only to find that Link was attempting to follow him, his sword outstretched. Unpene darted off to one side, to try to lose his pursuer, but the moment he did that, he felt Link's boot make contact with his back, and was sent crashing to the ocean floor, in a noticeable amount of pain. Still, he knew that he had to get up quickly, so he rolled over on the ocean floor, and was on his feet in a moment. Link had just driven his sword into the ground, where Unpene had been moments before, so indeed, that had been a close shave.

"You must have found me by listening for me." Unpene correctly guessed.

"Sound travels better underwater than through the air." Link replied, both eyes still closed, "This environment isn't that different from other environments. It grants some advantages and some disadvantages. No warrior should be unready to improvise their technique, when new rules of their environment pop up like this."

"Perhaps." Unpene replied ruefully, "But I haven't met a warrior who could do what you've just done since I died long ago."

"Actually..." Link seemed to pause for a moment, as if contemplating the implications of what he was about to reveal to his foe, "I'm not a native of this time. My name is Link, and I'm the Hero of Time. I came here from the past, purely by accident, and now, I have every intention of changing things back to the way they were."

"If only things could go back to how they were," Unpene replied remorsefully for a moment, "but it's not always that simple. Swords can't change things that have already happened."

"No," Link responded, however, "but souls can. The power of the heart can do anything, and that's why I want to reclaim it."

"You're here now." Unpene corrected him, though he felt almost as if he was responding to someone else, "You're in this time. You're alone. In many ways, we're alike."

"Except that I'm not foolish enough to believe that Ganondorf might resurrect those I care about." Link replied quickly.

However, whatever Link had meant to accomplish with those words, it hadn't worked. Unpene's feelings, when he heard that, changed to a sort of despair, and yet, there was a kind of relief there as well.

"I'm not foolish either." Unpene replied to Link firmly, "In fact, you're probably right. To be honest, the very idea of Ganondorf resurrecting anyone who didn't serve his purpose seems more than a little silly."

"Then why continue to serve him?" Link asked in apparent confusion.

Unpene was starting to feel very sad, but he knew that he had to be honest, if only for his own sake.

"Ganondorf is the most powerful person in the world at the moment. I don't trust him. In fact, I abhor him, and I expect him to betray me and everyone else, if it serves his purpose, but whether or not he has the will to accomplish what's needed, he at least has the power, if anyone does; power that I've been denied by the workings of fate. I'd have backed anyone who had the power to do the things I needed done."

"In fact, to some degree" Unpene continued, though it made him feel even sadder when he realized what he had to say next, "I agree with his intentions. Although what I really want is a happy ending for myself and my people, I feel very bitter about being robbed of the chance for that. Not nearly as much as he does, but enough to make me understand what he's talking about when he says he wants to rob the sea of life and hope."

"I see." Link replied, looking sad himself, "You see the power of that man, and you follow him because of it; not out of fear, but out of blind hope."

Unpene felt a little surprised by that observation, but it seemed to be generally accurate.

"The one with the greatest power is the one with the greatest chance." Unpene recited, however, "Always."

Link sighed, however, when he heard that, and a fresh sadness passed over his face, almost as profound as the one that Unpene was feeling. Then, however, he replied to his enemy's words just as sadly.

"I feel so sorry for you, and for anyone who can say things like that and believe them. In Hyrule, we're taught, even as children, that a powerful individual is always weak, because a powerful individual is always still an individual. You follow Ganondorf because he seems to have great strength, but he'll never be truly strong, because the only person he cares about, in the end, is himself. Real power comes from the help and support of those around you. Real power comes from friends, from allies, from a group dedicated to a common good. The power of the hearts and intentions of an entire group of people can overcome any individual, and almost any obstacle, and the Master Sword embodies that principle. It harnesses the real, true power of an entire group of people with common, good intentions, to bring that power to bear against other powerful men, who seek an unjust cause. All of our power has to be used for our mutual benefit, and I intend to do that."

"Liar!" Unpene shouted back, growing more and more agitated by Link's confidence, "Ganondorf has destroyed dozens of islands already, full of many groups of people!"

"Yes," Link replied calmly, "groups of people who weren't united in anything; groups of people who competed amongst one another. That's the main reason why I have to find some way to really undo all this damage. People have forgotten how to act as a group, and harness their full potential. Ganondorf's power is only significant when it's used against other individuals. In a world where everyone thinks of themselves first; a world where everyone is an individual, working for their own benefit alone, he'd be invincible. That's why I'm here. If I have any say, that won't be the fate of our world. Now, let me have the Master Sword."

"You don't know anything!" Unpene snapped, however, losing his temper again, "A lot of wimps working together are still a lot of wimps, like how I swept away that submarine with my powers. I'm sure there was more than one person working together in that. Now it's time for you to fall before that same power!"

* * *

As he said that, Unpene stretched out one hand, and Link felt the currents of the water around him constrict into a palpable force, all over his body. As they picked him up off the seabed, and held him there, he could feel a crushing pain come down on every part of his body at once.

Though he hadn't wanted to use up his magic against that foe, Link couldn't see any other way out. Quickly, he cast a spell of Nayru's Love, and felt the pain leave him, as his body was protected by the magic shielding that the spell had summoned. Still, that wouldn't last forever, and he needed to take action before the spell wore off. However, since he still wasn't able to move against those forceful currents, the only course of action available to him was yet another spell.

At once, the water around Link's body began to bubble and boil in a dome, and soon, it became so hot, that it was forced away from the fluctuating dome, as though being turned to steam all at once. The boiling water and steam-bubbles shot right out in all directions, and although Unpene attempted to defend himself, it was too late. The scalding water swept over him in a wave, and the agony was indescribable.

After about thirty seconds, the temperature of the water in that area had mixed with the temperature of the other water nearby, turning it bearable again, but the spell of Din's Fire had had its effect. Although not even magical fire could truly burn in water, the spell had, at least, made the water hot enough to cause almost as much damage.

Unpene and Link both lay on the ground, both injured by scalding marks all over their skin. Link's spell of protection had shielded him from the worst of it, but he hadn't been spared injury entirely. In fact, if not for the fact that the use of those two spells had left him quite drained, he might still have been able to walk. Both were stretched out on the seabed, both close to unconsciousness, and Link knew that the very moment that Unpene truly lost consciousness, he'd die. Indeed, they both would die, since Unpene's death would mean that his power for allowing others to breath underwater would vanish, and Link was already in such bad shape, that there was no way he could deal with being unable to breathe. If he wanted to survive, Link realized, he had to move fast.

At once, both Link and Unpene, expending the last of their strength, crawled in the direction of the blue glint, which Link suspected was the Master Sword. Unpene's injuries were much more severe, but Link was still not as used to moving around underwater, so they somehow reached the sword at almost exactly the same time. As the webbed hand, and the bare, pink hand both closed over the hilt of the sword simultaneously, however, Link could only pray that it really was the Master Sword, as he looked up...

Over a hundred bright lights began to glow in patches all over Link's body, as he felt his wounds start to mend with enormous satisfaction. He could feel that his power wasn't as great as it had been in Hyrule, but then, the people of the Great Sea were, for the most part, further away, and they were just as unfamiliar with the workings of that process as the people of Hyrule had been when Link had first used the Master Sword's power to defeat the wicked Tassicle. Back then, people had looked up all over the land, and he'd drawn on the power of their good intentions to aid him in saving them from evil. At that point, though, he was doing the same thing again, albeit to a lesser degree, but somehow, that didn't really amaze or thrill him that much. It was the mere fact that he was holding the Master Sword in his hand, and could feel that it remembered him, and was agreeing to join forces with him again that thrilled him the most. The Hero of Time had found his missing other half.

* * *

Finally, as the power of the good intentions of all those throughout the Great Sea washed over Link like rain, and shone forth from him like a hundred tiny stars of different colors, Unpene watched in awe, and realized what was happening in an instant.

"He's really doing it." Unpene recognized with some measure of shock and dismay, thinking those words, which he was too weak to speak aloud, "This power is so different from anything I've felt before. It's not his, or mine, or Ganondorf's, or any one person's. He was right. I see now. He was ri..."

At that moment, however, Unpene couldn't do anything about that silent revelation, because that was when his life came to an end.

* * *

That was precisely when Link began to realize that the powers of the Master Sword, while they might heal wounds caused by violence, wouldn't protect him from some kinds of danger, because he started to notice that it was becoming impossible to breathe.

Struggling against the currents in the area that were still dying down after their manipulation by Unpene, Link tried to look around for the island that the submarine had left from, but the new powers afforded him by the Master Sword hadn't enabled him to penetrate the murky water with his eyesight any more than he'd been able to before. Besides, it was probably extremely far away by then.

There was only one sure way for Link to get back to the air, and that was to keep swimming upward, and hope he made it before he had to take another breath. Otherwise, he'd be found as a corpse very soon, on the surface of the ocean.

At the moment, however, Link only had one sheath, so without hesitation, he drew out the sword he'd used in battle since arriving in that time period; the sword given to him by the council of Isle Prime, and threw it to the ocean floor, replacing it in its sheath with the Master Sword, then pushed off from the ocean floor, and began to swim upward as hard as he could, leaving the other sword behind him to rust. That sword had served him well, of course, but it wasn't the Master Sword. No other blade was like the Master Sword, or could be considered to have the same worth.

Link had mentioned more than once to both friends and enemies that the Master Sword was more than merely enchanted, but he wasn't entirely sure what it was. In some respects, it truly did feel like a part of himself; like an extra moral conscience, which aided him in times of confusion. In other ways, the Master Sword sometimes struck him as being like a person; a traveler, in fact, journeying forward through time, seeking out justice wherever it went, but freed from normal mortal needs. Although the Master Sword could neither speak aloud, nor move of its own accord, it had great powers, and it could bestow those powers readily enough upon whoever it deemed worthy. As for what defined worthiness to possess the power of the Master Sword, only the sword itself really knew. It acted, in that respect, as a judge of character, and Link had joked to Zelda more than once that the Master Sword "liked" him, but he was beginning to see that it was absolutely true. Link's continual quest for justice and righteousness for his people, and even his tendency to question himself on moral decisions; to make himself consider them more carefully seemed to both be traits that the Master Sword appreciated.

There were other traits as well, but for some reason, when Link had grown from a boy into a man, the Master Sword had accepted him as it's... master? No. More like a partner, and as a man, he'd continued to grow, not just physically, but in terms of his dedication, the wisdom with which he located his problems, and the courage with which he confronted them. He'd grown from a man into the hero of his people, and so, the Master Sword had revealed more and more of its powers to him, showing him its ability to cut through anything wielded by evil, and even helping to teach him how to use the power of the good intentions of those around him to summon the incredible force that made his whole body shine. He and the Master Sword had made those journeys together for quite some time.

However, something had happened just then that had never happened before. When Link had placed the Master Sword in his sheath, releasing its hilt with his hand, its power didn't diminish. Normally, releasing it would cause the powers it gave him to dissipate, but for some reason, they remained that time, and his body continued to glow all over, as he swam upward as fast as he could.

"Yes," Link thought silently, in response to that odd change on the part of the blade of evil's bane, "I missed you too."

Link was aided by the strength of the good hearts of the Great Sea, harnessed by the power of the Master Sword, as he continued to swim upward, his lungs aching more and more with every second, and the ache increased as he continued to travel upward through the murky water. At last, when his lungs felt as though they'd burst, and he felt as if he was about to black out, his face shot out of the surface of the sea, and the precious air, though damp and gloomy, began, once more, to enter his lungs.

It took Link a while of treading water and taking slow and steady breaths, before the damp air of the Great Sea had him breathing normally again, and all that time, his face and hands, above the water, had shone like lighthouse beacons to everyone for a mile, and had attracted the attention of the fire warriors, who'd been training on the southern isle, and who'd apparently been rejoined by the sages of fire and water a short time earlier, because Link could see the submarine resting in the water near the island, and moments later, Obo came rushing out, running on top of the water, to investigate what was making all that light. When he saw Link and the Master Sword, he was astonished and overjoyed, and made no attempt to hide it at all.

Once Obo had helped Link up onto the water's surface, they walked back to the island together, in higher spirits than ever. Link had taken the role of a hero again, under those waves, and he'd made things work out somehow, and that was only bringing them closer and closer to their final, eventual victory.


	28. Pt3 Ch11 Forbidden Origins

Chapter 11: Forbidden Origins

* * *

The captain had puzzled for several minutes over how to locate Ganondorf's fortress. Wherever he was, he'd obviously intended to be found when he'd sent the captain that smoke message, back on the isle of the time guard, so he must, the captain thought, have been leaving some clue that he could follow. The question was what clue, and where?

Of course, that didn't mean that Ganondorf's new location would be right in plain sight. The captain seriously doubted he would have set up in the Forsaken Fortress again, but that was when he realized something else. Ganondorf either had the power to control the wind, or to shape smoke from a distance. That, after all, was the ability he'd used to send the smoke message. If Ganondorf had been using that power often, then the captain might be able to find his headquarters by searching for large wind disturbances. Quickly, he looked up...

At that point, the captain laughed aloud, as the answer became clear to him. Ganondorf wanted to be found; there was no other possible explanation. Except for the places where the captain himself had used the Wind Waker to change the wind, all the wind around them seemed to be blowing in one direction, like a long, disruptive path made of air currents. He could even see the outline of the path in the clouds high above. That was when the captain smiled, as he gave the strangest orders of his life.

"Set sail to wherever that wind takes us."

It sounded contrived, of course, and would seem to make very little sense to most people, but the captain had every intention of following that strange wind current, in the hope, however slight or large, that Ganondorf might be at the other end. The time had come for him to be the hero. The time had come for him to save the day.

* * *

They were only sailing for about three hours, but thanks to the unnaturally-strong winds at their back, they covered a great deal of distance. At last, the forward winds simply seemed to stop, and the captain took out his spyglass to look around. There didn't seem to be a headquarters, or even an island anywhere around for over a mile in any direction, which was frustrating, since he'd been so sure that it had been Ganondorf who they were chasing, and not just some average gust of wind.

Suddenly, however, just when it seemed that the captain would find nothing, something resembling a wooden block appeared in mid-air above their ship, and the waters surrounding the vessel began to churn and grow rough, as the ship was assaulted by powerful winds. Then, a small, black ball dropped from the wooden block, and landed right in the center of the Seeker's deck, scattering some of the barrels in the area with its impact, and putting cracks in the deck-boards. It seemed to be some kind of black, slime-like substance, which had fallen to intercept them, and it fluctuated wildly, changing its shape, as they watched, to a pitch black smoke, a slime, a liquid, a small creature, and back into smoke, as though the idea of taking a physical form at all was completely alien and strange to it, but the captain recognized that dark substance. So did Harriet, Thom and Rei-Nu, in fact. It was the same darkness that Ganondorf had used to destroy the island home of the fire warriors, just a short time ago, and although the captain wasn't sure what would happen, he drew his sword quickly, and charged the creature head-on.

Swinging his sword in several different directions with great speed, the captain sliced through the creature like butter, only to find it re-forming into a new shape, and striking back, doing no damage at all with its own attacks. After that had gone on for a few moments, the shadow creature leapt onto the captain's chest, and transformed back into a slimy substance. The captain could tell that that creature wasn't used to people who could resist its attacks, so it had changed its tactics, and in a moment, he felt a cruel, terrible will trying to intrude into his psyche, but his training for control of himself had been enough that he wouldn't be conquered by that dark creature's intentions. He resisted with all his strength, and finally, he pushed back.

The creature's will, strong though it was, melted like a snowball in a fire pit, and in response, the creature itself seemed to melt as well, vanishing completely, as though evaporating into the air.

By that point, the rest of the Seeker's crew approached with hesitation, curious and awed by what had just occurred. Most of them seemed to know that that was a battle they wouldn't have been able to win, but they were also clearly afraid; not just of the shadows, or the strange box that still hovered overhead, but of their own captain, who still stood in front of them on deck.

"What's wrong you guys?" the captain asked aloud, but just then, he froze in shock, when he heard the sound of his own voice, because it was deeper than it had ever been. Looking down at himself only a moment later, the captain found that he was in for a terrifying surprise.

The captain had transformed again, just as he'd done many times before. His hair and muscles seemed frozen, but it was more than that. He was nearly a head taller than he'd been a minute before, and there were sharp protrusions extending from his elbows and knees.

* * *

"Blast!" Ganondorf exclaimed, as he watched the inhabitants of the ship below. He'd known that the great shadow had been planning to betray him, but he hadn't expected them to make their move for a while; certainly not until he'd accomplished his own mission. However, Ganondorf's pride was impenetrable, and he was determined to make the shadows pay for their betrayal.

"I'm sealing the rest of the darkness eggs in the vault." Ganondorf said to the man standing directly behind him, "They should know better than to try to betray me."

"Alright, sir." came a voice from nearby; young and intelligent-sounding, "It's not as if those are your only weapons, after all."

"True, brother Cera." Ganondorf replied, turning to face the man behind him, "The darkness beyond is helpless to enter this world without me, but even without their help, I'm still very powerful."

The so-called "darkness eggs" were, of course, not actual eggs. Really, they were more like small bombs; completely black, perfectly round, and about the size of marbles. When those bombs exploded, they gave off dark magic of a very specific type. That magic had only one purpose; to draw a part of the darkness beyond into whatever world the bomb was detonated in. The dark shadow-beasts that the bombs invited into that reality were unnaturally strong. Their touch could corrode almost any physical matter, and their minds sent out dark impulses through psychic means. What was worse, most of the time, they were completely invulnerable.

The problem was that somehow, instead of killing the inhabitants of that ship, the shadow of darkness had fallen in battle, apparently surrendering its power to one of the ship's inhabitants.

"I know what they're planning." Ganondorf thought silently, "I can see their intent. If enough of them melt into one of those people, they may possess him. Then, they'll use that body to try to steal the rest of my darkness eggs, and invade this world on a much larger scale."

At one time, Ganondorf had thought he'd wanted the darkness to consume that world, but at that point, he found that he wanted his own, personal victory a lot more; a victory over hope, and that meant, for the moment, teaching the darkness to respect him.

At that point, Ganondorf could have attacked those pursuers in any number of ways. He could have used his wind launcher to scatter their ship to the far corners of the world, or struck them down himself with fire from the sky, but he soon decided that it would make a much more impressive demonstration if he ordered his servants to attack them instead.

"Cera, I want you to lead the guard against them," Ganon said aloud, turning to face him with a smile, "but try not to drag it out. We don't have all the time in the world, and the quicker you can get it over with, the better. Besides, you never know what strange powers the shadows of darkness may have given that young man. Be careful around him."

Cera didn't seem to feel that those people would be much of a challenge. After all, they were traveling by boat. Nevertheless, he'd come to have great respect for Ganondorf over the months they'd been working together, and he'd obey the wishes of the king of thieves.

Ganondorf almost smiled. Cera had been the first of those who'd joined him in his cause, and he was still the most qualified to lead, aside from himself. For a moment, he regretted making a deal with the darkness those many years ago, but he dismissed the thought just as quickly. At the time, he'd been trapped in a dome under the ocean, and without the portal that the darkness had provided him with, he might never have gotten free. Still, the darkness was much harder to work with than Cera, mainly because Cera had some level of enthusiasm for his work. The darkness didn't. To them, conquest was just a role they played, and there were times when the shadows of darkness even struck Ganondorf as being a bit depressed.

In comparison to that, there wasn't much to distrust about "the guard," as Ganondorf called them. In fact, they were something of an experiment of his; his own monster summoning magic; amplified and infused into a living person. The result, as it turned out, was a powerfully-aggressive, yet highly-intelligent superhuman being. As for whom he'd chosen to infuse with his magic, there were really six of them. Of those, four had been paupers, beggars, or orphans, victimized by their society. The fifth had actually been a very rich man, who'd done all he could in his society, and desired that it be more than it was, but knew it never could be. He'd become obsessed with morals and eventually, came to look upon his society with as much disdain as the others.

However, the sixth member of the guard, and its leader, was Cera; a young man of powerful convictions, and a most unusual past. He hadn't personally been wronged by the hylians of the Great Sea, or their society, but he believed in Ganondorf's cause even more than the others did, and almost as much as Ganondorf himself. That cause was simple, after all, and easy to understand.

"The societies of the Great Sea must not be allowed to continue."

Just why Cera believed in that cause so firmly was only known to himself and Ganondorf, but it was very different from the motivations of the others, and even those of the king of evil himself. Still, Ganondorf trusted him more than any of his other followers, and through that trust, they'd worked together for several months, bringing their judgment down upon the people of that blighted land, and since the land was finally attempting to defend itself, it was probably going to be a short-lived, and ill-fated attempt.

Nevertheless, Cera was determined to see their mission through to the end, so he left the control chamber of Ganondorf's enchanted fortress, and summoned the guard.

There was a reason why Ganondorf had chosen to use the guard at that juncture, besides merely wishing to avoid using the shadows of darkness again. In order to allow a living being to leave his enchanted fortress, he had to drop the invisibility spell which surrounded it, and most of the time, that helped to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies, making them weak. Besides, it was quite a sight to behold, and although Ganondorf would have denied it, he had a bit of a weak spot when it came to showing off.

Quickly, Ganondorf moved to a small, clear globe on the left side of his control chamber, and muttered an incantation, and as he did so, the people on the boat below were treated to a sight that did indeed strike fear into their hearts...

* * *

Where once there'd been merely air above them, there was suddenly a massive fortress, which almost defied description. It had towers, and high, stone walls like a castle, but the bottom of it seemed to be merely a large chunk of rock, riddled with holes and wooden trapdoors. It was obvious by then, that what the crew of the Seeker had originally mistaken for a box was actually the inside of a wooden shaft near the very base of the fortress. There were a number of shafts like those, and from those, all manner of terrible weapons could probably be deployed at a moment's notice. Another thing that was obvious was the craft's means of propulsion. The entire massive fortress was suspending in the air by a series of whirling, artificial tornados; probably crafted by amplified magic of some sort, which extended outward from small jets in the craft's edges and sides. Those explained the damage that the fortress was doing to the natural wind patterns, and the reason why it could travel with such great speed, and remain aloft, despite being bigger than most islands. The swirling winds, and the fact that the boat was almost directly under the thing made it difficult to see the castle on the flying fortress's top, but the inhabitants of the Seeker were all, at that point, just a little too terrified to care. The idea of the entire thing just crashing down on top of them right then and there didn't seem at all far-fetched, so at first, their stomachs were full of butterflies.

Then, however, the crewmen on deck saw something that forced them all to take action, despite their fear. Seven creatures were flying directly towards them from one of the battlements of the enormous fortress, and they were all flying freely through the air in a V formation, so at first, they'd been mistaken for birds. As they got closer, though, it could be clearly seen that they were, in fact, humanoid, and if that fortress really did belong to Ganondorf, then there could be no doubt that those flying troops would be their enemies.

Every member of the crew knew that, and every member of the crew prepared for battle. They had no cannons left on their boat, so instead, each crewman had to arm themselves with whatever weapons were available in an attempt to prepare for the inevitable assault, but as the flying people got closer, and could be seen more clearly, everyone on the Seeker knew that they were in trouble.

The one in the lead had light brown hair, and wore light, golden armor on his chest, elbows and knees. He wore gauntlets and boots, made from a gold-colored substance as well, but seemed to have no weapons. The one behind him and to the left had no hair at all, and seemed to have no steady appearance either, in fact, the substance that composed his skin looked more like cloth that changed color and shade in swirls, as if his very appearance was designed to hypnotize his foes. Behind him came a blond-haired woman, who seemed to be dressed in a tangle of leaves. She was flying by means of a wing-like series of flowers, which were growing directly out of her back. Behind her was a very large, powerful-looking man with grey hair, and a large beard, who seemed to be surrounded by bandages of some kind, and an aura, which pulsed out from his body in short, blue flashes.

Behind the group's leader on the right was a man dressed in bright red armor, with razor-sharp, white protrusions all over it. A red helmet concealed his hair, he carried a sword in one hand, and his entire body glowed with energy. Behind him came two more girls, who looked very similar in shape and appearance. They each had enormous wings on their backs, like the wings of tremendous doves, and one was dressed in white, the other in black. Their hands glowed with golden energies, and their hair was the strangest shade of light purple.

As the other crewmembers waited for their enemies to come closer, the captain saw one of the bare muscles of the group's leader twitch, and spun around, glad to see that everyone had come up on deck; even Saria, Mido and Makar, who was looking more like a kokiri with every passing hour.

"Everyone into the sea!" the captain exclaimed at once, suddenly gripped by fear, and drawing puzzled looks from those around him, but no one seemed to be leaping overboard, so the captain shouted at them all again, before he jumped into the water himself.

"Do it!"

None of them knew the reasoning behind the captain's order, but they all seemed to have decided that he must have a reason for giving it, and followed him off the side of the ship as fast as they could, and into the ocean.

The last of the passengers of the Seeker had made it into the sea just in time, as the enemy in the lead seemed to throw a punch at thin air, and a blast of wind ushered forth from his fist, tearing the ship's timbers to shreds like a typhoon. Even the crew; who were, by then, several yards away, received a few injuries as a result of the flying boards.

The captain had seen the movements of his enemy's muscles in preparation for that punch, and suspected that the blow would do some long-range damage, but he hadn't expected the entire ship to be utterly destroyed by the attack, and since they were all drifting in the water, it would be impossible to get a decent footing, from which to launch any attacks of their own, or even prepare a defense. The captain knew that somehow, he had to think of something quickly.

"Harriet! Medli!" the captain exclaimed, "Can you give us some solid footing somehow? Ice... dirt... anything?"

Medli and Harriet hardly had to think about it for a second. Soon, Harriet yanked the cork out of a bottle, and tossed it towards Medli, who seemed, at first, to merely be staring at it, but in moments, small particles of earth rose up from the ocean, and as the contents of the bottle spread over them, it froze them in place with an almost instant icy chemical reaction. However, there was just enough earth in the ice to keep it from being too slippery.

At once, the captain and his crew climbed onto the solid mound and drew their weapons again. Saria, Mido and Makar stood behind the others, though. There in the middle of the ocean, their powers would be almost completely useless.

Suddenly, the battle was joined. The one in the golden armor dove right through their ranks, forcing some of them to retreat back into the water for a moment. It was no good trying to fight them that way, the captain quickly started to realize. The lump of land they'd conjured was a foothold alright, but it wasn't large enough for them to fight on. The enemy had a vast terrain advantage, and they were using it.

The two winged girls had already descended on some of the shadow warriors who'd fallen into the water, and were using some kind of golden destructive energy to attack them. The shadow warriors, unused to dodging attacks while swimming, were soon horribly injured, and passing out from the pain. Medli had attempted to use her earth powers to manipulate flying sand grains into attacking their enemies with terrifying speed, but the man with the blue aura had intercepted them all with what looked like glowing bandages, shooting out from his fingertips.

Thom, Harriet and Rei-Nu had each transformed, and leapt into the air at their enemies, but the plant-woman tossed them all aside effortlessly, with a collection of vines, which had erupted from the sides of her torso, and soon, they were plunging into the water too. By that point, the captain could see that he was the only one left who was in any position to strike, and cast a spell to protect himself, leaping into the air after the man in the red armor, and drawing his sword as he felt his strength and endurance magnified by the heat of battle, and by the fresh infusion of dark power that he'd received from the shadow of darkness just moments earlier. Although the man in the red armor parried the captain's first sword strike successfully, he failed to defend himself from the powerful kick to his chin that followed, knocking both of them into the sea. Soon, the captain looked up again, to see that his enemies were all bearing down on him at once, and knew that he had to try something he'd never been able to manage before; he had to dive underwater.

Having made that pivotal decision, and taking a deep breath, the captain struggled to rotate his body in a downward direction, and attempted to swim down, instead of just to one side, and he was just successful enough that he managed to get out of the way of his enemies as they passed by overhead, but he could still see the man in the red armor struggling to get airborne again, with strange, red energy of some kind forming around him in the water. The captain could tell that soon, his seven enemies would be back in the air, and in a position to finish off his group. For a moment, he wished that Link would arrive and save them, but that moment didn't last very long.

"No." the captain thought to himself, as he began to get used to the odd methods of locomotion that he needed to use while underwater, "I can't depend on the Hero of Time anymore. Like it or not, I'm a hero too, and I have to be worthy of that. This is my battle to fight, and I can't wimp out now!"

At that point, the captain started to smile, because with every second he spent swimming underwater, he was getting better at it. Soon, he swam towards the red-armored man, just as fast as he could, and yanked him deeper underwater by his boots. The armored man struck out at the captain in response; pulses of bright red energy attacking him viciously, but the weight of the man's armor was causing the water to slow his attacks down too much, and the captain found, in amazement, that he was able to dodge each one. At any rate, the captain could tell that he had a chance against that armored warrior if he could fight him one on one, and his chances for victory would increase drastically if he could just separate his enemies from one another.

When the two fighters were a couple of yards underwater, the captain used his grip on the armored man's legs to vault himself up to his face, and began punching him as hard as he could, multiple times. The man's breath was sucked from his mouth at once, as pain covered his face and cheeks, and he began to lose consciousness. As soon as the captain saw that, however, his mind felt as though it was positively on fire! He'd just had an idea that was, if not destined to succeed, then at least absolutely brilliant by comparison to most of his ideas. Quickly, the captain began to tear the fighter's armor off as fast as he could, struggling to hold his breath for just a bit longer...

* * *

"Where's Batot?" Cera asked aloud to the plant-woman, who apparently liked to be called Blossom.

"That strange being that defeated the shadow of darkness knocked him into the ocean, and he hasn't come back up yet." Blossom replied, however, looking aggravated, "I'm a little worried he might be... Look!"

Responding to Blossom's cry of alarm, Cera turned to look where she was pointing, and beyond where the two winged girls were picking the unconscious intruders out of the ocean, for transport to the flying fortress; there, in the middle of the water was the red glint of Batot's armor.

"Get him back to the fortress infirmary right now." Cera ordered in disappointment, which bordered on embarrassment. Soon, in response, one of the winged girls grabbed the armored figure, and flew directly towards the fortress with her passenger over one shoulder.

"I still don't understand." the man with the blue aura; whose name was Network said, "Didn't Ganondorf tell us to kill the attackers? Why are we taking prisoners?"

"No." Cera replied, however, with a calm smile, "Lord Ganondorf is wiser than that. He ordered me to confront them, and to not drag it out, and as you can see, we've succeeded in making short work of any resistance, but Ganondorf rarely orders me to kill someone when he doesn't know who it is."

Network still didn't seem to understand, though, so Cera patiently pointed to some of the unconscious, would-be invaders, and spoke again, with a gleam in his eye.

"These aren't just everyday assailants. That's the sage of light, that one over there is the sage of shadow, that girl is the sage of the forest, and if I'm not mistaken, the ill-made sages of wind and earth are also here. Obviously, an assault of this quality indicates that the people of the Great Sea have begun to work together in a much more organized manner than in the past. Something or someone is giving them hope."

"Furthermore," Cera continued, "Although I don't really think we can lose at this juncture, we should be cautious nonetheless. This information is obviously of great importance to our efforts, and I know for a fact that Lord Ganondorf will want to hear it before we take any action against these sages or their allies."

"But..." Network still seemed a bit confused, "But wouldn't it make sense to kill the sages in any case?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Cera replied, "The sages represent a great power in this area of the world. Not just their own power, but the hope they inspire in their people. If we could convince one of them to join our cause, we might gain a significant power from that, and even if we can't, remember that we're not just fighting a few people with magic powers; we're fighting an entire race. Races can summon a lot of strength if they're given hope, as the sudden, unexpected appearance of this group would seem to indicate, so Lord Ganondorf might decide to drop the bodies of the sages among their people, to destroy that hope. You see, we can kill them at any time, but having them alive puts twice as many cards in our hand. More than ever before, our next move can carry a lot of weight."

Network just nodded. He didn't, apparently, understand the full implications of what Cera was really saying, but he'd clearly caught enough of it that he wouldn't question the order to take those prisoners anymore.

* * *

The captain rubbed his knuckles to try to drive away the pain as he removed the ghastly red armor, and stepped over the body of the winged woman he'd just killed. It certainly hadn't been easy. His sword had shattered on the skin of her neck, and even his punches, strengthened as they were by his enchanted bracelets, had only done just enough damage to finish the job, and had left his fists numb from the impact.

The idea had been simple, yet very effective. When he'd finished off his first enemy underwater, the captain had thought of putting on the armor of the dead superhuman, using a rope to tie a chunk of iron from his ship to the man's body, causing him to sink out of view, then impersonating him in his armor, and flying with the rest of them back up to Ganondorf's stronghold. In truth, the captain hadn't really expected it to work. In fact, he'd expected them to get a good look at his face, and start blasting him with their powers, but luck, it seemed, had been with him, and he'd succeeded in killing two of Ganondorf's seven super-soldiers, and more importantly, entering the king of evil's flying castle. The Seeker had been completely destroyed, but the captain knew that if he could just beat Ganondorf there, that wouldn't be such a horrible loss. Additionally, having overheard that the others were being taken prisoner, he knew that the sages, at least, were all still alive. However, he was beginning to develop some cunning as he progressed through those experiences, and that part of himself told him that what he'd done wouldn't go unnoticed for long. Indeed, it was possible; perhaps even likely, that the partner of the winged woman already knew about her death, and had alerted the others. In any case, the captain thought, he needed to get some idea of the layout of the fortress as quickly as possible, to minimize the home turf advantage that those superhumans had over him.

Quickly, the captain surveyed his surroundings. He'd only waited a couple seconds after being carried into the fortress before he'd struck the enemy carrying him, so he found himself in an entrance hallway to the flying citadel, open to the outside air. In the old days, the captain would have considered that perfectly natural, but it struck him as odd at that point, so he stopped for a moment, to think about it more carefully, until he realized why. Under normal circumstances, a craft like that, at an altitude like that, would be a virtual reverse vacuum of powerful winds, due to the unusual air pressure, but something about the artificial tornados that powered that thing was keeping that from happening. The captain knew that wasn't natural, however, so it had to be the side-effect of a very powerful spell.

There, the captain was on unfamiliar ground. Magic spells were, as far as he knew, capable of anything. At least, that was what the legends said about them. Still, he could see what he needed to about that particular corridor. High winds raged outside, while inside, the air was as calm as the inside of a house on Isle Prime.

However, that also said enough to him about the power of the winged woman he'd just killed. She didn't fly with her wings; that was impossible. Going from a high-altitude environment, to that docile one all at once was something that no bird or other winged creature was equipped to do, and if they'd tried, their feathers would probably have been torn to shreds. It was possible, though, that her wings were intended to be used more as weapons, and she had some other power, which enabled her to propel herself in whatever direction she chose, regardless of the direction and force of the wind around her.

As the captain turned back towards the stone corridor, however, he saw a sight that made him glad to have that information, and indeed, as much information as possible about the powers of his foes, because standing right there was the other winged woman, and she was glaring at him with an expression that would undoubtedly have spat fire if looks could kill.

"You..." she hissed, and at once, she had both fists outstretched, and a golden energy erupted from them in the captain's direction, forcing him to leap off to one side to avoid it.

As he dodged the angrily-aimed blast, the captain's mind was racing. He didn't have a sword anymore, but that was probably for the best. If his experience with that last enemy had taught him anything, a sword would be useless against that opponent anyways. Still, he hardly felt ready to confront her as he prepared himself to dodge another attack.

However, five seconds later, the attack had yet to come, and naturally, that surprised the captain. Instead of firing more energy at him, the other winged woman had picked up her partner's lifeless form in both hands, and was regarding it with terrible sadness. The captain felt that it might be the perfect moment to strike, but just as he started to move one leg forward, he heard a sound behind him, and spun around just in time to dodge a punch from an enemy that had snuck up on him. The blow hit the stone under their feet, cleaving the entire hallway cleanly in two, and causing part of the fortress to fall away, as the captain's new enemy advanced on him.

However, the moment the captain saw his new enemy, he felt a horrible chill run up his spine. That so-called "new" enemy looked just like the enemy he'd slain minutes before, except that she was dressed in an outfit that was a shade of dark gray. The captain was almost tempted into looking behind himself, to see if his other enemy was still there, but knew that it would be a foolish move, and anyways, suspected, with a growing dread, that there were more than two of her.

"My powers may be great." the gray-clad opponent before him said, "But I never go anywhere without support."

Suddenly, from behind him, the captain heard a sharp crunching and squashing noise, as though a mass of flesh and bones were being compressed into an extremely small space, then despite himself, he spun around and ducked simultaneously to avoid the inevitable blow of the enemy that was in front of him, who sped past him, continuing in the direction of one of the most horrific things that the captain had ever seen.

The winged woman was certainly not ugly. In fact, in some circles, she might even have been considered to be as beautiful as a true angel, but whatever she'd done with the dead body of her partner had changed her own body significantly. Every one of her muscles had expanded to nearly twice its natural size, and her chest and head seemed to be about to burst. Her hands were covered with blood, and as the captain watched in horror, it seemed to melt away, as though dissolving into thin air, and that mockery of a humanoid was all that remained, right next to the gray-clad woman, who so closely resembled what she'd been before.

"There's three of you?" the captain asked, looking a little ill, but the hideous, transformed woman shot him a glance as he spoke, which the captain read to mean "You still don't understand."

Quickly, the captain leapt upwards, as yet another winged woman sped by underneath him, and he felt his entire right hip tenderized thoroughly by a glancing blow that he received from yet another, which had rushed past him on one side. As the captain collided with the floor again, and struggled to stand, he could feel four more sets of female hands grab his arms and legs, in an attempt to entrap him.

"We are Multitude." the large-headed creature that watched from nearby said, "You cannot defeat us. Surrender your weapons, though, and we shall spare your life."

At one time, that's just what the captain might have done. At one time, even being put in such a horrible situation might have been enough to drive the captain to tears. No. Mere months ago, it would certainly have been enough. However, the captain was changing. He was growing up, and becoming a man; a warrior; a hero, and with that came the desire to be worthy of those titles. That superhuman obviously had the power to duplicate herself many times, among other powers, which he wasn't sure of the nature of, but he wasn't going to surrender to her. He might be killed by her in the near future, but he wouldn't allow himself to be defeated, and for the first time in his life, the captain had begun to understand the difference.

The captain hadn't had much time to wonder about the sharp protrusions that the act of absorbing the shadow of darkness had placed on his elbows and knees, though it was clear that somehow, the extra dark power had reshaped the structure of his bones, and the texture of his skin to create more effective weapons, which, when one thought about it, made perfect sense. Creatures of darkness always thought about the quality of their weapons first.

However, the alterations made to the captain's form had made him sturdier as well; not as sturdy as those assailants of his, of course, but that could easily be remedied. At once, the spell of magic armor covered his body, making him invulnerable to all mortal harm, and causing those who held him to look a bit worried. Then, with every ounce of his magically-enhanced strength, the captain twisted his arms around into an odd angle, causing the invulnerable, razor-sharp protrusions on his elbows to scrape against the arms of those who were holding his wrists. That penetrated their skin, and although it was only a flesh wound, it threw them off balance, giving the captain the edge he needed to take action again.

The three "Multitudes" standing next to the deformed one took off to attack the captain at once, but it was too late. He'd hurled both of the enemies who'd held his arms at the ones holding his knees, and slid backwards along the stone floor the moment that he was free of their grip. Then, rolling off to one side, and dodging their attacks, he got back into a standing position, and once again found himself facing several enemies.

However, the moment that he could see them all, the captain found that he had another bit of information about his enemy. He knew why the Multitude had absorbed its dead sister, and allowed itself to become a deformed monstrosity. There were nine enemies before him, and no sign of the twisted one anywhere.

The captain's mind raced as he considered that new development. Somehow, those nine were all made of the same kind of matter, so one could absorb another before the body had grown cold, and somehow bring her back to life by sharing her own life-energy with it. They could divide into many, or combine into one, and could even reverse death in one another. The captain wasn't certain that nine was the maximum number they could divide into, but for the moment, he decided to simply hope that it was. He'd never in his life been able to defeat nine enemies of hylian-level strength at once, and that person was much more powerful and much better trained than a normal hylian. Still, that didn't mean that he was going to give up. He just had to find some kind of weakness.

Unfortunately, the many Multitudes seemed to have an easy time cooperating, as they dove at him all at once, striking out with their fists and feet, in an attempt to bring him down, but the effects of his spell of invulnerability were still operating, and although he could feel the spell beginning to wear off, he had enough power left over to survive their first bombardment, and knock a couple of them back with solid punches to their faces.

Their next act was to start firing golden energy at him again, but that time, he had a prepared defense. Whipping out his shield; which was the enchanted mirror shield that he'd found as a child, he deflected the energy back at his opponents, three of whom were hit by it, and burned horribly.

As three more began to absorb the others, the other three charged the captain again, but that time, he slammed both fists against the wall on the side of the chamber, sending a shower of stone shards flying into them. Those didn't really hurt them, but it was enough to distract them while he advanced on the three enemies behind them, and put one out of commission with a punch to the neck. He was able to deflect the attack of another, and knock her on the back of the head once, before the remaining four descended on him all at once, and he had to make a wide swing with one arm, to knock them all away.

The aim of the battle had taken a new turn by that point. His goal wasn't just to defeat the remaining Multitudes anymore, but to keep them away from the one's he'd beaten already. The moment he succeeded in driving them back, the captain dove forward with another punch, to incapacitate another one, but two more elbowed him on either side of his head in response, and if he hadn't used the magic armor spell at that point, the attack would have split his head like a grape. Then, all at once, the captain grabbed both of the arms that had struck him, and slammed their owners together. They fell, unconscious to the floor at once, but the captain was more worried than ever. He was running out of magic, and he'd lost track of the last Multitude.

Suddenly, the two Multitudes he'd just defeated vanished again, and the captain spun around to see, once again, a twisted, contorted Multitude. However, that one was even worse. The mass of all nine Multitudes had been incorporated into its muscle structure, and its head was the size of a gyorg. It clearly weighed well over nine hundred pounds, and the captain could tell that it was already working on a way to restore its clones to life.

Hurriedly, the captain dashed forward towards it, betting that its increased mass would slow it down, and punched it repeatedly in the face, stomach and chest, before leaping over one of its shoulders and slamming it in the back.

The hulking thing hadn't been able to dodge any of the attacks, and had been pushed almost to the edge of the entryway by the force of the slamming attack to its back, but it obviously hadn't truly been harmed by any of the attacks either. As much great superhuman strength as the captain's enchanted bracelets gave him, it clearly paled in comparison to what that creature had achieved. Somehow, it was stronger in that form, by combining the power of all nine.

"Something just occurred to me." the monstrosity said aloud, in a voice that sounded something like a braying mule, "I can simply slay you in this form."

Then, slamming one foot into the ground with terrifying force, the creature launched itself at the captain, and he had to leap back and forth through the air, and across the creature's own arms and shoulders, to avoid its blows, which dented the walls and cracked the floors. At last, however, the captain began to see a way that he could still win, in spite of how badly things had been going for him up to that point.

With all the strength and speed that he could summon, the captain braced his feet against the creature's left shoulder, and slammed both fists against the ceiling, causing a crack to form all across the hallway. Just as Multitude herself had done mere moments before, the captain divided the entryway in half, launching himself into the half that was still connected to the castle, as the other half, containing his enemy, began to fall downwards. The creature looked as though it was about to divide again, however, so the captain, with no other choice, set an arrow to his bow, and launched it straight at the head of his enemy, which, in that deformed state, definitely made a big enough target.

The arrow couldn't really penetrate her skin, of course, so he knew she might not try to dodge it at all, but it would finish her, regardless, and the moment it hit her, the arrow burst into flames of over eight thousand degrees; hot enough to melt a full ton of ice in under three seconds, and certainly hot enough to melt his enemy, who plunged, in the swiftly-melting tower, into the ocean, as what was left of her vast energies darted aimlessly through the atmosphere, without their owner to guide them.

* * *

Cera had reported to Ganondorf the moment he'd gotten back to the ship, and there'd certainly been a great deal to discuss. Naturally, Ganondorf approved of Cera's choice to bring the invaders aboard. They'd all been locked quite securely in the dungeons at the lower parts of the fortress, so from that point on, they just needed to decide what to do with them. Eventually, Ganondorf decided that he wanted to learn more about the new alliance that they were forming; who'd joined it; where it was centered, and so forth, before taking any further action. Therefore, their progress towards the next isle would be delayed, but hopefully, he said, not by too much.

However, as Cera and Ganondorf continued to discuss the matter, there was a blur of motion, and suddenly, the figure of G'nigh appeared before them.

"What is it?" Ganondorf asked, noticing the worried look on his servant's face.

"Part of the westernmost entryway to the fortress has been broken away," G'nigh reported, "but that's not the worst part, Batot and Multitude seem to be missing."

"Blast!" Cera exclaimed, a conclusion suddenly forming in his mind, "How could I have been so blind? That figure we picked out of the water must not have been Batot after all! It must have been one of the invaders in his armor. So he's killed Multitude! This could endanger the whole plan!"

"More than you know." Ganondorf replied, however, an expression of worry growing over his face, "In all my centuries of life, I've only once encountered someone cunning enough to do what you're describing, but the Hero of Time won't find us unprepared. I swear, not even he will be able to stop us!"

At once, the plans began, and the entire flying fortress became a much more dangerous place, as spell after defensive spell was activated in preparation for the anticipated arrival of the Hero of Time, because Ganondorf and his men still had no idea that it was an entirely different hero who was climbing through the flying castle towards the dungeons...

* * *

The captain had explored several small hallways of the Castle, which, as he'd expected, had contained a number of hidden traps, apparently in a effort to keep him out. Those traps were mostly turned on by concealed magic spells, which activated themselves if he got too close, or entered a certain area of the fortress. Generally, they seemed to be proximity-activated, but after setting off one trap involving fire jets, and two more that electrified the floor underneath him, which he had to leap quite some distance to escape, he began to learn yet another important skill; how to recognize when he was near one of those traps and sidestep its trigger. The triggers were almost completely invisible, but he found that if he squinted in just the right way, he could see a sort of red glint, which indicated the location of the trap. With that new skill, the captain was able to slowly explore a few areas of the castle, carefully memorizing its layout, and the location of the hidden traps, and pressing on until he found an area with even more traps than normal. He was able to avoid all of them, of course, but it served as a clue to him that he might be getting closer to the dungeons.

Slowly but surely, the captain continued to press on, through the hallways of the monstrous castle, until after over an hour of searching, he discovered the dungeons. The door to the inside of the dungeon was locked, but with his enchanted strength, he was able to force it open anyway, and there, he discovered just what he'd been hoping to find. Every single person who'd been on his ship when it was destroyed was locked in a separate cell there; all trapped, of course, but still, all safe. It was, in some ways, a relief.

The prison of Ganondorf was a hall made, apparently, of stone, with enchanted lamps embedded in the walls, which seemed to glow with an unnatural, yellow light. The cells were rooms cut out of the rock walls, and sealed up inside metal bars with locks on the doors. The whole place gave the captain a very confined feel, so he had a feeling that a spell of entrapment surrounded that area of the fortress.

The first two cells contained shadow warriors, who'd been working on the captain's ship, but the third contained Rei-Nu, so at once, the captain rushed up to that cell, to speak with his friend.

"Rei-Nu." the captain said, just loud enough that the older man could hear him, "Listen, don't raise a fuss over my being here just in case they're listening, but I'm going to break you all out of here. Is the admiral here too?"

"Eight cells down on the left," Rei-Nu replied at once, keeping his composure quite well, "She's been waiting for you to arrive. So have the rest of us."

The captain could tell that Rei-Nu was partially lying about that. They hadn't all expected him to show up and save them, it seemed. Still, he felt more validated than insulted by that information, so he continued, "Those super-soldiers that attacked us are tougher than they look. It took everything I had to kill two of them. Right now, there are at least four of them left alive, and that's not even taking Ganondorf into account. We have to play this carefully."

With those words, the captain reached out and grabbed one of the bars of Rei-Nu's cell, but found that an enchantment of invulnerability was traveling through it. He had a feeling that all of the bars and walls of that miniature prison would be the same way.

"You'll need a key to open that." Rei-Nu replied, "But it's in the possession of their leader right now. Not Ganondorf; the other one; the one that led the strike team against us; the one with the golden armor. I'm not sure of his name."

"That complicates things." the captain replied, genuinely surprising himself with how much like the Hero of Time he was starting to sound, "I'd prefer to be able to rely on you and the others as backup, in case things get rough, but if I can't get you free until..."

"Who's out there?"

The captain nearly leapt right out of his skin as he heard that question, but forced himself to calm down as he realized that the voice actually belonged to Saria.

Swiftly, the captain walked over to the cell from which Saria's voice had come and peered inside. He didn't have to look very far into the cell, because by that time, Saria's girlish curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she was clinging to the bars of the cell, trying to see as much to either side as she could by pressing her face against the bars. When the captain approached, she very nearly cried out in joy, but when she saw how badly-bruised he was, she stopped herself.

"You're here to rescue us, right?" Saria asked, drawing a swift nod from him in response.

"Not yet, though." the captain added, "I need the key if I want to open these cells."

"Why doncha just beat up that big oaf in the gold and take it, then?" Mido asked, from a cell nearby, but the captain had already begun to consider the obstacles to such a course of action.

"The truth is," the captain replied sadly, however, "I'm not sure I can. I just barely got out of a fight with one of his followers alive, and I feel like I'm about ready to collapse. I spent just about all my magic in that fight alone. I don't think I can take on another like that; at least not yet."

"Shoot. Magic isn't a problem."

Much to the captain's surprise, it was Saria who'd said that, drawing his attention back to her again.

"What do you mean?" the captain asked, surprised by that comment on her part, "Do you have some way of restoring my magic?"

In only a moment, Saria brushed a hand through her bright green hair, as she nodded quickly, and then stuck both of her small hands through the bars of her cell towards him, indicating that he should come closer to her.

However, just as the captain began to bend down, to get nearer to the hands of the sage of forest, he started to feel something very hot approaching from the left, and quickly shoved Saria back into her cell, as he himself dove backwards out of the way. A jet of blue flame shot past them both, which, if the captain hadn't reacted so quickly, might well have taken off his entire head, and set Saria ablaze.

Struggling against his building exhaustion, the captain turned to look at the source of the fire jet, and nearly felt his blood run cold. It was another of the superhumans; the man with the blue aura. Around his face, the aura barely shone at all, but around the rest of his body, it shone so brightly, that the captain had a difficult time telling what he was wearing at first. However, it turned out to be, after a more careful observation, a series of bright blue bandages, which glowed with the same aura he did. His expression was positively ferocious, as he raised one hand to his head, and removed a piece of the bandage from one wrist, then spoke into it, saying, "Bingo. He's down at the cells, just like you thought. Send backup."

After he'd said that, the strange man tossed the bandage into the air, and at once, it drifted off to one side of the room, passing directly through a wall on its journey towards those who, presumably, that man wanted to communicate with.

That was, for the captain, a pretty unusual situation. He found himself facing an intelligent enemy, who he'd already killed more than one comrade of. He expected that his new enemy might attack with all his might, or perhaps boast about how much stronger he was than those who'd been killed already, like the villains often did in storybooks, but that new enemy showed no sign of doing either of those things. He was simply standing there, poised to attack, but not making any moves. After a few moments, though, the captain realized what he was trying to do with some chagrin.

"He's stalling for time," the captain thought, worry still growing in his heart, "trying to drag out this stalemate until his buddies arrive. He's worried I'll be able to beat him."

By then, the captain had realized that the situation he was in was, for him, a new experience in a lot of ways. It seemed to be his first opportunity to play mind games with an enemy that was worried about him, for one thing, and because he had so little experience in doing that, he knew that he had to be careful. He had to say just the right thing, or his enemy wouldn't be scared of him anymore, and he'd probably attack, but the captain had absolutely no idea what the right thing to say was.

At last, however, the captain decided that a shot in the dark was better than waiting until it was too late to shoot, and asked his enemy, "My, my, my. Are you afraid of me?"

"I'm... cautious around you." came the honest reply, "Though you look like an ordinary fool, you must have impressive powers to have defeated Multitude and Batot."

At last, the captain knew the name of the armored man he'd slain underwater. That might, he thought, be useful information later, so he memorized that fact quickly.

"I suppose you think those same powers can't defeat you." the captain replied. It was a bluff, of course. He was still exhausted from his last fight, without a drop of magic to spend in fighting that enemy, and if the man with the aura had been able to read his eyes, the way that he and the Hero of Time could, he would have seen the bluff coming a mile away, but although that man had been given powers, and trained to kill, he hadn't been trained in the way that the captain had been trained. He hadn't been trained to be a hero.

However, the captain could see almost everything that was going through the man's head. He could see that the man was considering his answer carefully, worried about letting the captain find out that he was stalling for time, and not wishing to appear as weak as he felt. At last, though, the man said, "Batot was, in some ways, our weakest member, and Multitude had many weaknesses as well. My strengths and powers are very different from theirs. A person of impressive power in one way might be able to vanquish one type of enemy, and not another. In that way, you might have been able to beat Multitude and Batot, but be totally unprepared to fight me."

As he said that, the muscles in his neck; the ones the captain could see, tensed up a bit, and the bandages that covered his arms, legs and torso began to shift all over his body, which left an impression, as though they were slithering back and forth across him like snakes. The captain felt like shuddering at the sight, but controlled himself.

That, the captain realized in worry, was how it was. That enemy hadn't exactly called his bluff, but he'd certainly leveled the playing field to the point of simplifying the course of action that the captain needed to take next. Either the captain could attack him right then, and hope he could beat him while drained of all his magic, and bruised all over, or he could wait for the others to arrive, and have all of them on his hands at once. Considering the options like that, in a logical, strategic way, for one of the first few times in his life, the captain made a difficult choice, and it was the only choice that he could make. He dove forward towards his enemy, with his left hand balled up into a fist.

At first, the man with the aura seemed surprised; maybe even shocked, but he reacted quickly, in spite of that. In almost no time at all, the bandages surrounding his body coiled up under him like springs, vaulting him over the captain's head, and catching on his enemy's arm at the last second. With terrifying strength, they yanked the captain into the air by one arm, and then, after a moment of tumbling through the air, he felt himself slammed against the ground again, and released, as the man with the aura lowered himself to the ground on his bandages, using them like tentacles. The captain had collided with the ground back first, so his spine was killing him, but he stumbled to his feet again, as he saw his enemy turn to face him, almost as though he were inverting his very body, instead of actually turning around. The captain couldn't quite describe the power that the man had just used, but it certainly gave him the ability to turn and face an enemy much more quickly than normal.

"Don't make me do that again." the man said, a stern expression coming over his face.

"Very impressive." the captain muttered through the pain, "Am I allowed to find out your name?"

"No." his enemy replied at once, his stern look growing deeper, "I left it behind a long time ago. These days, I'm just known as Network. If you have to, you can call me that."

"Network." the captain said aloud once, to memorize it, then considered his options. Obviously, if he waited, he'd have to contend with others of equal power, and they'd either kill him or imprison him, which just might come to the same thing in the end. The only choice was to attack head-on, and hope that there was enough time for Saria to restore his magic before the others arrived.

Of course, by then, the captain understood at least some of Network's powers. His bandages were like extra-strong limbs, which he could manipulate like tentacles. That meant that at the moment, his entire body was defended from any kind of punch or kick that the captain could send his way, except to his head, but if he tried to attack Network's head, that strange enemy would just vault himself into the air again. The situation was only made worse by the fact that the captain couldn't damage the walls or cell doors with even his enchanted strength, so he didn't have anything to throw at Network. Faced with that hard truth, he knew that he had no choice but to start using his weapons.

As quickly as he could, the captain yanked three bombs from his bag, and tossed them towards Network with all the force that he could muster, then pulled out his bow. As expected, Network had used his bandages to grab the bombs from the air, and toss them back towards the captain, and when he did that, the captain shot arrows directly into the bombs, forcing them to detonate very close to his foe's body. The explosions sent fire and smoke flying in all directions across the section of the prison hallway where Network was contained, but fortunately, none of the prisoners were hit. The captain just smiled. Powerful though that foe had been, the captain had been able to invent a technique to counter those powers, and an attack that could connect with his enemy. That had, he thought, been much easier than the last fight.

However, as the smoke started to clear, the captain froze in horror. The silhouette he was seeing through the smoke didn't look as though it had been hit by an explosion, and then, he saw Network clearly, and was absolutely terrified by what he saw.

Network stood right there, where the explosions should have hit, but he was only wearing a light coating of bandages, so that the captain could even see the outline of his muscles. The rest of his bandages, having become transparent, and still glowing with his blue aura, were formed into something that resembled a circular net around him. In a moment, they returned to their places around his skin, and as they did so, Network's aura flared up again; even brighter than before. Somehow, he must have not only blocked the attacks of the bombs with some kind of energy field, but absorbed their energy as well, making himself even stronger.

"That attack wouldn't have defeated Multitude." Network said over the roar of the blazing power that surrounded him, "You're holding out on me."

The captain winced when he heard that. In some ways, it was good that Network still hadn't realized that he was just about out of magic, but how, he wondered, could he win that fight, against an enemy that could absorb and counter his attacks so well, without even a drop of magic? He was, by that point, perfectly certain that the magic arrows would have done no good. They'd merely have made Network more powerful than ever when absorbed, and his magic armor spell might have given the captain a few extra minutes, but it basically came down to the same question. How was he going to beat an enemy who could defend himself from all kinds of attacks?

However, as the captain considered the question, the decision he eventually reached was that he needed more information on how Network's powers really worked. He couldn't be completely invincible. That would be impossible, not to mention most unwise on the part of Ganondorf, in case Network decided that he no longer wanted to follow orders. No, he had to have a weakness, and that meant that the point of that battle was to find it.

The captain's next move was to fire off more arrows at Network, and he was more than a little disappointed when his response was to form the bandages back into the round net, and all the arrows vanished upon contact with it. Acting quickly, the captain rushed forward and brushed his wooden foot against the field, then stepped back and took about a second to survey the damage. The base of his wooden foot looked like it had been shaved off by an extra-fine razor, but more importantly, Network looked a little worn-out, and as his bandages returned to his body, his aura seemed to glow more faintly; not terribly faintly, but not the roaring flame it had been moments before. After thinking about that for a second or two, the captain had figured out all he'd needed to know, as well as the reason why Network hadn't been using his powers to physically wipe the captain from existence, when it seemed clear that he could certainly do that.

At once, the captain pulled the hilt of his broken sword from his bag. It was all that remained of the weapon he'd used on so many occasions before, but which had shattered so recently on the neck of Multitude, and for the moment, it was all he'd need to fight that enemy with.

Because Network hadn't noticed that the captain was out of energy, he'd naturally supposed that Network's powers must be non-energy based, when in reality, Network's abilities merely drew on the same kind of magic that the captain's did; an energy force within the body, which could be tapped and used... and used up.

Network could use his field to absorb the energy used against him, but when the attack contained no raw energy, radiated no magic, no light, and no heat...

In a flash, the captain drew the hookshot from his bag, and felt along the tip of it to the sides. The tip was razor-sharp. Naturally, that wouldn't afford him any more advantage than a common dagger in a fight like that, but it was better than nothing. Quickly, he charged Network, and swung out with the hilt of his old sword like a club, but Network vaulted over his head again, soaring through the rather tall hallway, as far as he could, but not far enough. Moments later, the captain yanked a grappling hook from his bag. It was a grappling hook that he'd had since he was a child. Then, without any hesitation, he threw it directly at Network, and was satisfied as the thing caught him in the leg. For a moment, Network was caught off-balance, but he reacted quickly, sending half a dozen more bandages to the ground, to break his fall, and another along the rope that was attached to his leg, to grab it and yank the captain up into the air, with the intention of slamming him into the ceiling of the hallway, and letting him fall to the floor for one final time.

However, that attempt was destined to fail. Twisting around in mid-air, the captain aimed his hookshot directly upward, until it collided sharply with the ceiling. He hadn't expected the hookshot to stick in the ceiling, although he had hoped that it would, and at that moment, he'd gotten lucky. The walls and bars of the cells were invulnerable, but the ceiling wasn't, and so, with his enchanted strength, and the momentum given to him by the whipping motion of the bandages, the captain had been able to wedge his hookshot into the ceiling, then instantly released the rope attached to his grappling hook, and let out a couple yards of the hookshot. Moving as fast as he could, the captain swung directly towards Network with one hand gripping the hookshot, and the other on the hilt of his sword.

In a mere moment, the captain collided head-on with Network, and since all of Network's bandages were, for that moment, otherwise occupied, he was hit full-on by the blow, and sent sprawling across the hall, colliding head-on with one of the cells; the cell containing the prisoner known as Seram; the sage of shadow.

At once, Seram grabbed Network by the arms, and yanked him against the bars of the cage, causing terrible bruises to form along his back. The enchantments surrounding Seram's cage prevented him from using his powers to teleport out, but he could, it seemed, help win the fight in that way at least.

Desperately, Network struggled to break free of Seram's grip, but the shadow sage held on with all his might, as the captain closed in on him again with the hilt, and swung it with all his strength against Network's face. In that moment, Network panicked, and reactivated the disintegrator field, and both Seram and the captain, realizing what that would mean, leapt back away from him just in time to avoid touching it, as the captain hurled his sheath at Network one last time, and watched it vanish as it collided with the field.

Seram had landed at the far end of his cell, and the captain at the far end of the hall, but Network had landed right on the floor, gasping for breath as he looked into the captain's eyes. Once more, he attempted to strike out with his bandages, but at that point, he seemed to have found, to his clear horror, that they wouldn't obey him. He was just as drained as the captain, and unable to use any more of his magic. The captain had learned his weakness.

"How could you..." Network gasped out, but the captain replied quickly, before he could even finish asking the question.

"That defense of yours doesn't cost you even a drop of energy to use, but if you try to use it to vaporize physical matter, it eats up your power like mad. It can absorb radiant energy, but not tangible materials like wood, stone and metal, so if you want to protect yourself from those kinds of projectiles, you need to have a lot of energy to spend. I figured it out when your aura started to diminish after I shot you with those arrows. This victory might have cost me that half-shattered hilt, but I'd say it was worth the sacrifice. Now we're both out of magic."

That last observation hadn't been a slip of the tongue. The captain had tipped his hand on purpose. Since he and Network were on relatively even footing in terms of magic power, the captain had decided that revealing the truth to his enemy might make him feel like an idiot, which would make him angry, which, in turn, would force him into making even more mistakes, and since the captain's bracelets made him stronger than Network in terms of pure physical strength, a little bit of clumsiness on the part of his opponent would be enough to ensure his victory.

Sure enough, the captain's gamble had paid off. Rather than carefully considering that new information about his enemy, and trying to formulate a plan to claim victory, Network flew into a terrible rage, and leapt to his feet, charging towards the captain at once, with no apparent technique, other than a deep desire to see the captain brought down for that horrible trickery.

However, in a way, that attack only served to help teach the captain something new. As Network charged towards him with a terrible anger in his eyes, the captain, keeping his presence of mind around him, did precisely the opposite. In that split second, he calmed himself, and swung his left fist, with no malicious intent at all.

Network's head once again collided with the invulnerable metal bars behind him, and the fight was over. Network was dead, even before he'd hit the bars. The impact of the captain's fist against his chest had dislodged several things in the man's body that were meant to be kept in place, and the captain felt something painful well up in his heart for just a moment. He supposed he'd felt it when he'd drowned Batot as well, or when he'd killed Multitude, but the more of those servants of evil that he slew, the stronger it grew. Even as he asked himself the question silently, he realized what it was that he was feeling; it was a pang of sorrow. He'd done what he had to, and it wasn't easy; not in the least. It made his heart ache to see a person who could have done so much for justice and peace be cut down in their prime because they foolishly chose evil over good; vengeance over hope; sweeping away good and evil alike, instead of working to solve their problems. In his mind, the captain knew that they'd brought that fate on themselves, and yet, his heart ached for them, and for the first time, he began to understand a part of what had sculpted the identity of the Hero of Time, but then, his train of thought was interrupted once again by necessity, in the form of Saria's voice.

"Link! Hurry! There isn't much time! Get over here, quick!"

The captain knew exactly what she meant. The others, who Network had summoned, would probably be on top of them in moments, and the captain had to find out what means Saria intended to use to restore his magic as quickly as possible, if he wanted to be able to stop them.

At once, he rushed to the bars of Saria's cell and knelt on the floor to face her at eye level. Once again, she smiled and reached out both hands, as she'd been about to do minutes earlier, and that time, she placed them on his head, and he felt her magic flooding into his body.

All the power she drew on as a sage; all the energy she relied on to allow her to cast what few spells she knew; to communicate with plant life and with the other spirits of the forest; the source energy which, indeed, held her own body together, filled the captain in an instant, and he could tell that there was much more where that had come from.

"How?" the captain asked with puzzlement and confusion, "How could you have so much magic?"

"I'm a sage, dummy." Saria replied, however, without the least bit of meanness in her tone of voice, "Magic is my specialty. I've been gathering it for hundreds of years."

"Oh, right." the captain said, pausing for a moment after that, and trying to think of what to say next, but Saria hushed him. After that, she spoke much more seriously; at least for a moment, saying, "That last one took everything you had. I think if you want to defeat the others, you'll need a new weapon or spells or something. Is there anything in this fortress that Ganondorf seems to be guarding very closely?"

* * *

It only took Cera a few minutes to reach the prisons, followed closely by Blossom and G'nigh, but what they saw there made them turn away in horror and fear. Network was dead, and the invader was gone. Still, there must have been plenty of witnesses. At once, Cera turned to face Mido, and asked very sternly, "Did you see what happened?"

"Yeah." Mido replied flippantly, with an arrogant grin all over his face, "Some grown-up busted in here, blew out that guy like he was a candle, then ran off."

Cera suspected that Mido might have been lying about the ease with which the intruder had bested Network, but he was too worried to think about pursuing the matter any further. He had an intruder to find.

"This can't be allowed to continue!" Cera exclaimed furiously, "I don't care what Lord Ganondorf says! The Hero of Time has to die!"

* * *

"Blossom, you and G'nigh search for him together. I don't want the two of you to separate for any reason. We'll get him! I swear, Lord Ganondorf will have one less enemy when this is all over!"

The captain winced upon hearing that, as he crept along the very next hallway out of the prison, trying hard to keep out of the line of sight of those horrible enemies. At least he'd learned their names, and he knew that they'd be attacking him as they might the Hero of Time, but it still gave him very few ideas about to how they could be beaten, or what kind of secret weapon they had, which might help him to accomplish the job. Still, those were the cards he'd just have to deal with. He'd suspected it would be extremely difficult, and it looked like that's just how it was going to be. At least that fresh revelation hadn't made things any worse. As long as he kept his wits about him and, for the moment, kept out of their way, and out of the way of their traps, he at least had a decent chance, he felt, of getting out of that situation with his skin intact. After all, there were worse eventualities to have to face, and people he'd have been less happy to run into than Ganondorf at that point.

However, the captain quickly pushed irrelevant thoughts aside, as he began to make his plans. Obviously, the first thing was to keep searching the fortress, until he found something he could use as a weapon against the rest of his enemies, but he'd also have to find some way of distracting them while he obtained it, if he could even find it at all. More information was, at the moment, what he needed most, so he began memorizing hallways and trap locations as he crept through the enchanted stone passages of the fortress, sneaking further in.

After several minutes, the captain reached another fortress entrance, which opened out into a passage leading outside, and was able to determine that he'd traveled across the entire breadth of Ganondorf's fortress. Since he didn't have any paper, or anything to write with, he found himself forced to map out the fortress in his mind, and he'd traveled such a great distance already, through so many winding halls, that it wasn't an easy job. Still, he didn't have any alternative, so he rose to the challenge.

According to the captain's mental map, the lower sections of the fortress contained the dungeons, a couple of equipment storage areas, and several unusual rooms, where magic seemed to flow differently; probably for the purpose of powering the many enchantments that kept that fortress operational. For a moment, the captain considered damaging some of those rooms, but realistically, he knew that it would be best not to. If he tried to disable the ship, his enemies would probably all be on top of him in under a minute. Besides, a lot could have been learned from Ganondorf's enchantments, if they could bring the floating island back to Isle Prime in one piece.

At the moment, the captain knew that he had to avoid taking action until he'd learned all he could. It wasn't easy, but he knew it would increase his chances. He also knew that he'd already explored most of the lower floors of the fortress, so his only other option was to start traveling up.

At last, after climbing up stairs and ramps through the fortress for many more minutes, avoiding enchanted traps the whole way, and practically jumping out of his skin every time he heard a noise that sounded like it might be one of his enemies, the captain came to a series of three doorways; all black, and all located in the same hallway. One was obviously a vault of some kind, and was enchanted with the same protective spells that had been used on the prison area. The last two didn't seem to be locked at all, and the captain could hear sounds from behind the first, as if some complex energies were being shaped inside. Obviously, the vault was very important to Ganondorf, but the captain tried to turn the huge handle, and found it locked securely, against even his superhuman strength. Worse yet, as with most vaults, that was probably the only way in. There was obviously some secret to opening the vault door, but there didn't seem to be a combination lock anywhere on it, or for that matter, a keyhole, so the captain decided to give up on the vault for the moment, and focus on the other doors. He was just about to try the central door, but something inside told him that if he did, he'd meet Ganondorf face to face, and he knew he wasn't quite ready for that. No; it was better to open the other door, and find out what was inside of that first.

Quickly, the captain turned the handle of the other door and stepped inside, but he was absolutely stunned by what he found there.

The entire room was full of shelves, which lined all the walls that weren't taken up by the doorway out, but it was what was on the shelves that surprised the captain most. The shelves on the left side of the room contained, first, a series of yellow potions, then blue, then red. However, they weren't labeled, so he couldn't be sure what they did. The contents of the shelves on the right were much more varied. First, there was a series of small needles, and a selection of swords shaped like the hands of a clock. Then, a series of small bags beyond those, woven tightly enough to hold grains of sand, and some green potions, then some flowers in flowerpots, and lastly, another collection of swords, which seemed to be made of a substance resembling gold, but much lighter and stronger. The far wall was even more surprising, because it was decorated with armor of many types and colors. Quickly, the captain closed the door, so that if anyone passed by in the hallway, they might not even notice he'd entered the room. That place, he was starting to realize, had to be some kind of weapons and equipment room for his foes, but he wasn't sure how much of those he'd be able to use to his own advantage, if any.

The captain searched through the potions on the left side of the room, but found nothing that said what any of them did, so he moved on to the right side. The bags, it turned out, contained seeds, but they and the flowers weren't exactly of interest to the captain, and the green potions were also unlabeled, so he moved on to the weapon-like objects. The needles were razor-sharp. There was nothing magic about them, but they might give him an edge, he thought. He grabbed a number of them quickly, tied up by a band, and threw them into his bag. He then tried out a couple of the swords shaped like clock hands, and found them to be remarkably flexible and durable, and certainly very light in his hands, but he dropped them at once, when he tried the golden sword out.

The thing was amazing! It swung swiftly and easily; it barely seemed to weigh anything, and, as a test, he cut through the clock-hand sword with it like a knife through warm margarine. That weapon was obviously very powerful, so he fitted it carefully into his sheath.

At last, the captain examined the armor on the far wall. There was red armor, gold armor, and black armor, but the armor that really caught his attention was a black and white affair in one corner. The captain tried the chest plate on, and found that it fit perfectly well. It seemed to have been designed to give its wearer the best combination of protection and flexibility in battle. He'd never worn anything quite like it.

Then, the captain came to an obstacle. The armor had gloves and boots to it as well, but they went up past the knees and elbows, and the boney protrusions that extended from his elbows and knees got in the way of his ability to wear them, which forced him to question the nature of his body's transformation for the first time since it had happened.

Before the incident on the isle of the fire warriors, it had all been so simple; he was Captain Link, of the fleet of the Great Sea. There was only one of him, and he looked just as normal as anyone, but afterwards, he'd found himself transforming whenever his rage or his hate got the better of him. His hair would stand on end, and his muscles would tense up. When he'd learned to control his emotions, he'd found himself able to change freely back and forth between that form and his normal one, and began to learn of the powers given to him by his transformed state. When transformed, he found, he couldn't be fooled by illusions, and his perception of pain were greatly lessened. That alone sometimes gave him the power he needed to win a fight against a stronger enemy.

However, when the shadow of darkness had attacked him on the boat, he'd found himself in that new form, with enhanced strength and durability in addition to his other powers. His new power wasn't exactly superhuman, but it had been enough to aid him in surviving his last few fights. Although his remarkable self control had enabled him to master that new form with relative ease, he hadn't attempted to change back to his original form yet; partly because he wasn't sure he could. However, since he'd come up against an obstacle that his transformed state couldn't hack, he knew he had to try.

Calming his mind and his heart, the captain focused his thoughts on his old form, and after trying for about fifteen seconds, he found that his body had reverted to the first transformed state, which he decided to call darkness transformation one. Then, he continued to focus, and almost at once, was back in his normal form; a bit shorter, but a lot better able to fit into the armor.

Quickly, the captain put on the gloves and boots, sliding them up over his elbows and knees, and for a moment, thought about transforming back into his second darkness transformation form, just to see what would happen, but he dismissed the thought just as quickly. He had a job to do, after all.

However, as he turned to leave the weapon room, something caught his eye; something dark in one corner of the room. At first, the captain had thought it might have been a spider building its web in that room corner, but as he bent down to look at it, he could see that it was perfectly round, perfectly dark, and very small. With both hands, he quickly picked it up and studied it. It closely resembled a marble, but...

Then, the captain remembered where he'd seen it before. That round, black, marble-like object was the same kind of object that Ganondorf had dropped onto the deck of their ship, which had released the shadow of darkness that had attacked him. The captain almost felt the urge to drop it in disgust and worry, but he knew what happened when it was dropped, so he steadied himself, and started to think about it carefully.

Ganondorf used those things as weapons, and at the moment, there was only one left. When it broke open, a shadow of darkness would undoubtedly be released, but how, he wondered, did Ganondorf control them once they were released? Did he control them? Why had he used them at all if he couldn't control them? Did the creature do the bidding of the person who released it, or did it simply attack everything in sight? Either way, it would be safer not to leave that potentially-hazardous weapon in the hands of the enemy, so the captain stowed the thing away in his bag, and opened the doorway of the weapons room to leave...

There, standing in the hallway right outside the weapons room were G'nigh and Blossom, waiting for him.

* * *

To be more precise, the two superhumans had been waiting for whoever it was that had gone into the weapons room, though they themselves didn't seem to know his true identity. Even when he opened the door, and they stared him full in the face, they still clearly had no idea that he wasn't the Hero of Time, so they reacted as quickly as they could. Blossom dove upon him with vines sprouting from her back, to entangle his legs, and he watched in dread as they started to creep up his body, and grip his arms. In the meantime, G'nigh seemed to be chanting some sort of spell.

At that moment, the captain knew what horrible danger he was in, so at once, he drew his new sword, and slashed apart the vines that were entrapping him, then darted off to one side, but more soon pursued him, and the captain had to flee for his life.

The problem was that G'nigh seemed to dart in and out of existence, as though teleporting forward at regular intervals, and Blossom had begun using her vines as extra-long legs, so both could travel faster than the captain. At that point, he realized, it would be impossible for him to get any high ground against those foes, and their boss would probably be on the way in moments.

The captain realized in dismay that he really had no other choice. He spun around to face his enemies, and watched as the vines rushed forward to ensnare him.

Quickly the captain began shooting fire arrows at the vines, and watched as they burned away, each in turn, but Blossom had obviously fought enemies with fire powers before, because each vine fell away from her, the moment it caught fire. Because of that, the flames consumed only the vines, and not Blossom herself. Originally, the captain had had some ideas about leading them into some of the flame jets lower in the castle, but obviously, that wouldn't work.

Captain Link was starting to feel sweat pouring from nearly every part of his body, partly from the heat of the fires he'd started, and partly from nervousness. He was fighting two enemies, each with frightening powers, neither willing to back down, and if they wasted time, it wouldn't help him any. The captain knew that he had to think of something quickly.

For a moment, he noticed that G'nigh was continuing to chant his spell, so he aimed an arrow directly at his multicolored assailant, but to the captain's horror, the arrow slowed down as it approached his enemy, until it stopped completely. Then, G'nigh vanished again, and the captain felt a powerful punch collide with his chin. It hurt, but not much worse than a normal person's punch, really. In truth, the captain was more worried about the vines commanded by Blossom, but he wasn't going to be able to fight her if he had to worry about being struck with lightning speed by his other enemy.

At once, the captain transformed into his second darkness transformation, and felt his strength and endurance growing beyond the power of G'nigh's punches to hurt him. However, that also had the effect of making him a bigger target, and he could only hope that Blossom would hold off on her attack for the few seconds he needed to get his bearings after the transformation.

He wasn't that lucky, of course. The moment he'd finished transforming, and his elbows and knees had put holes in the gloves and boots of his armor, the captain was covered in vines from every direction. Of course, his strength was enough that they couldn't really hurt him by that point, or stop him from moving his body, but the vines were so resilient, that he found that they didn't break, even when he tried to snap them. He could yank them back and forth; even crush them when he got his hand around one, but they grew so large, so fast, that no matter how hard he pulled, they gave instead of tearing. Just as he began to realize the nature of his predicament, though, it changed yet again, as a series of small pods began to appear and open on the sides of the vines, and the captain watched as they sprayed a golden dust into the air.

He knew that dust had to be some kind of weapon. Otherwise, why use it against him? Maybe it was intended to knock him out, or even to gum up his lungs or heart to kill him, but either way, he had to stop that somehow. The captain needed a diversion, so with some level of hesitation, he tossed the black marble-thing to the ground, and prayed silently for a fortunate outcome, as it broke open.

The captain had expected a shadow of darkness to appear, and it did, but the moment Blossom and G'nigh saw it, a look of fear came into both of their eyes. For a moment, the captain found himself wondering if they expected the shadow to obey him, or to turn on all of them? However, as those questions passed through the captain's mind, he read something new in the eyes of his two attackers; a fact that he hadn't considered. Ganondorf had never hatched a shadow of darkness inside his sanctuary; not once.

It was then that a terrifying thought occurred to the captain. Ganondorf's recent mission wasn't about control. He wanted everyone dead, and he'd deliberately used weapons that would kill people at ground level, while he remained in the sky, in a floating fortress.

Whatever deal Ganondorf may have made with the shadows of darkness, was their real nature merely to destroy everything around them? It seemed at least possible that he had no control over them; not really. He dropped those killing machines on top of people and let them do their thing, except that it had gone wrong once. Once, they'd left survivors, and those survivors had found themselves with the power to transform into a darkness form, which could challenge the might of the king of evil.

The captain knew at once, that the shadow of darkness wouldn't obey him, or anyone else, but maybe there was still a way to salvage that situation.

Quickly, the captain drew his new sword again, and began cutting vines away from him, then with his other hand, he drew an arrow from his bag, and using up some more of his magic, set its tip ablaze. Soon, he was cutting away the vines surrounding him, and setting them on fire before they could grow back. Using that technique, he was soon free, moving closer to Blossom, who was under attack at that very moment by the shadow, and struggling to defend herself.

The shadow of darkness looked very similar to the last one that the captain had seen. The only thing constant about it was, of course, that it was always as black as tar all over. It sometimes resembled smoke, sometimes gel, sometimes liquid, sometimes a physical creature, but that shadow was nearly five feet high, and when it took a form that looked physical, part of it always seemed to be stretching out towards the captain, as though he were attracting it like a magnet to iron filings. Even more terrifying, as horrible as he knew those things were, and as terrified as he himself was of the beast before him, a part of him longed for it as well.

The captain could tell that Blossom was defending herself by using her vines to keep out of the creature's reach, but before she could react, he rushed forward and grabbed the shadow in his arms. The creature let out a piercing shriek, as the captain forced his thoughts into it; his motivation, his ideology, and his belief in doing the right thing. He could sense that the shadow didn't share his beliefs, but its own willpower was so minimal, that soon, it seemed to have no choice, but to obey him, and when that happened, the captain's vision began to clear, and he discovered that the shadow of darkness was gone, and he'd changed yet again, into a third incarnation of darkness.

Once more, the captain's height had increased, and he found that sharp, boney protrusions had pierced his armor from within at several points. Worse yet, there was a silent temptation at the back of his mind, despite all his training, to attempt a conquest of some kind for the darkness. Still, he wouldn't give in, and he only hoped that he could change back when the battle was over, just as he had before. It was a vain wish, perhaps, but he didn't want to be seen as a monster by his friends.

His friends. The moment that the captain thought of Saria, Mido, Medli, Seram and the others he'd met on his journey, he began to lose the desire for conquest. What did he have to prove? He had friends. At last, he had real friends, who he could rely on, and he had to defend their wellbeing.

Somehow, in dwelling on those unselfish motivations, the captain was nearly able to forget the dark temptation completely, and even began to see the battle as an act of love on behalf of his friends. Then, he started to notice the benefits that his new form granted him. In addition to the powers of his previous forms, the captain found that his entire body was nearly bursting with energy. He felt as though he could have run a marathon a hundred times over; as though nothing built by a hylian could ever race fast or far enough to tire him out. His magic was still limited, of course, but he felt as though even spending all of his magic power wouldn't have drained him. He was feeling much too active for that.

Feeling as active as he was, the captain looked towards Blossom, and saw an expression of fear in her eyes. Obviously, she realized that his new, monstrous transformation was something to be absolutely terrified of. However, he knew it wouldn't be long before she'd try to entrap him again, so he rushed her at once, grabbing her vines in both hands, and throwing her against one of the nearby walls with a single, mighty swing, but she recovered just in time to right herself in mid-air, with flower petals arranged like wings, which sprang from her back at a moment's notice. The captain was just about to swing at her again, however, when he felt something change in the air around him, and noticed that Blossom had begun moving much faster. In the blink of an eye, she'd recovered her footing, and was firing out blasts of the poisonous pollen from pods that seemed to have sprouted from her hips, and enormous thorns, which were being fired out from her shoulders. The poisonous powder, however, was having little effect on the captain in that more powerful form. It was the thorns he had to worry about. They were each razor-sharp, and put deep scratches in what was left of his armor, not to mention cutting the skin of his arms and legs, but he only felt the pain a little bit by that point; just enough to let him know that those parts of him were still vulnerable, and he knew he wouldn't die from those cuts; at least not yet.

Something else had occurred to the captain, though. Blossom's quick recovery wasn't natural. How could it be? She'd looked injured for a moment, then suddenly, she'd landed, reacted, recovered, and even breathed much faster than moments before. In fact, he had a sneaky suspicion that she hadn't sped up at all, and as she aimed even more thorns at him, he looked around as fast as he could for any motion that could clue him in to the location of his other enemy.

As the thorns continued to bear down on him, the captain quickly examined them each, looking for anything that seemed out of place, until at last, he found it, and with all the willpower that he could muster, the captain vaulted himself forward, into the rain of thorns with one fist outstretched. The thorns shattered what was left of his armor, and covered most of his body in cuts and open wounds, as he felt one of them penetrate his fist all the way through. He knew he wouldn't be able to use that fist again in the near future; at least not for a while.

However, the captain could also feel that he'd succeeded at achieving at least a partial victory, and although his chest was too damaged to allow him to really speak, on his face, he mouthed the word "Gotcha."

Three feet away, G'nigh fell to the floor dead. The captain's fist had collided with his head, interfering with one of his leaps, and knocking him into the path of several thorns, which had killed him almost instantly.

The captain had known from almost the very start of the fight that G'nigh had been a real danger to him. His power seemed to come in the shape of invisible territories around himself, and other nearby areas, inside of which he could alter the speed at which time flowed. That, obviously, had been how he'd defended himself from the captain's arrow, and been able to move so fast around the battle area, which was why the captain had had such difficulty in locating him, and when it seemed that Blossom was going faster, it was only because somehow, G'nigh had slowed the captain down. Therefore, his only real hope of beating Blossom in a fight had been to find G'nigh somehow, and take him out. It certainly hadn't been easy, and had taken every ounce of skill and timing he'd had, but he'd managed it, and after that, it was just him and the plant lady.

Naturally, Blossom was still well aware that her thorns were sharp enough to penetrate even the captain's powered-up skin with ease, which seemed to give her one advantage, but the captain also knew that, so he knew that he'd have to dodge the remainder of them if he hoped to survive. The problem was, there were too many to dodge, and the captain knew that he had to keep pressing forward. In the end, he only had one option left.

Activating a spell of magic armor, the captain let the thorns hit him. They bounced off the enchanted barrier very predictably, and in moments, the captain's foot had collided with Blossom's face, and she was on the floor, unconscious. She wasn't dead, of course, but the captain tried to avoid killing when it could be helped, so he decided to leave her where she was, and return to the weapons room to try out some of the potions. Maybe, he thought, one of them would be able to heal him. However, the moment he returned to the three big doors, he knew that he wouldn't have the chance to try anything of the sort. Cera was already there.

"You!" Cera exclaimed, "You're the intruder? You don't look like a Hero of Time to me. You look more like some ferocious beast."

"I'm not the Hero of Time." the captain replied quickly, trying to put on his bravest face, in spite of his already-severe injuries, "But I am the intruder you've been looking for. I heard you have the keys I need to open the dungeon and free my friends. Give them to me."

As the captain said that, however, Cera looked half enraged and half curious. The captain was wounded in many places, and his blood stained the floor beneath him, but he still acted as though he could win against Cera, and he was still trying to project an attitude of complete confidence in his abilities, after all he'd gone through.

"I suppose you think you understand your mission." Cera remarked disdainfully, "But there's no need for it. Lord Ganondorf will release the remaining eggs when the proper time comes."

"What are you talked about?" the captain asked in confusion.

"You're possessed by darkness." Cera replied, looking irritated with the captain as he spoke, "In fact, you're already far into the third stage. Surely, you consider it your mission to free the darkness eggs that Ganondorf has avoided using recently. I assure you, he'll use them eventually. You don't need to worry."

Then, however, the captain noticed something about Cera that he found exceedingly odd; something so strange, that he had to look twice to be sure. Cera's ears had no points on their tips.

Swiftly, the captain tried to remember what he'd heard about round-eared people, and at once, the words rushed into his mind; a story about people from another world, who had rounded ears, and represented nothing; people from a realm beyond the boundaries of the captain's reality; people from a place called Earth.

"You..." the captain began, feeling absolutely amazed, "You're an earthling, aren't you?"

Cera was so surprised by that question, that he almost lost his composure, but he wasn't upset to hear it. It was, it seemed, unusual for him to find someone who'd heard of the realm of Earth, so Cera opened his mouth, seeming eager to explain himself to the captain, even though it might delay his ultimate victory.

"About four hundred years ago," Cera explained, "People on Earth became civilized enough to start keeping reliable records, and one of the things recorded in the earliest records was the legend of Hyrule; a place where people had grown beyond corruption and vice because of a great chaos, and the power of the gods. I wanted to see that place for myself, and it didn't take me too much time or effort to find a leftover transportation device from the ancient times, but the moment I arrived here, I discovered that there was no paradise; no utopian triumph of love and belief; just water, blood and selfishness. You can't possibly imagine my disappointment. I'd had every intention of learning better ways of living from the legendary people of Hyrule, and they'd let me down. So, I decided to do the only thing I could. I decided to teach them the ways of living that I'd learned already."

"However, the more I tried to tell people how things were meant to be, the less they listened, and the more they focused on their own lives and their own immediate issues. Power, money, selfishness, acquisition... Those were the things on the minds of those people, who no longer had any right to call themselves hylians, having fallen so far short of the legend."

"Of course, I knew that as horrible as their lifestyle was, it would have been even more horrible for me to try to force a lifestyle on them, so I spoke my words, but I didn't try to take more direct action on their behalf, and I returned to my world for a while through the teleporter."

"For the next three months, I returned to this decimated sea ever single day for a few hours, and on one trip there, I found that the town I'd been trying to convince to follow the way of freedom had vanished. In its place was ash, soot and destruction."

"As you might imagine, that was when I first met Ganondorf. He found me wandering among the rubble, and wasn't certain how I'd survived, so he took me aboard the flying base he'd built with his magic, and tried to study me. As it turned out, my own genes wound up teaching him a great deal about the nature of magic as it related to superhuman powers. Without me, the other members of the guard might never have been created."

As Cera said those things, however, he started to look very sad, but regardless, he continued to speak.

"Maybe it would have been better if they never had been created. I know that every single one of us was bitter and angry at this world for not giving us what we expected of it. Ganondorf offered us an outlet for that. 'If you hate this world so much, help me bring it to an end.' he said, 'The Hylians forfeited their right to a future full of hope when they gave up on Hyrule.' I remember that particular oratory very vividly, because, you see, I've played it over a hundred times in my mind. Ganondorf can be an amazing public speaker, you know."

"So, I suppose that's my life; my story; my motivations." Cera said, finishing up his tale, "I follow Ganondorf to the very end of this world, because I feel just like he does. Your people let themselves forget everything that really mattered in their lives and lifestyles. They shouldn't have to live without that."

Then, Cera drew his sword, and the captain felt more than a little sick. Cera's sword was the same as the one he'd stolen from the weapons room. Still, he drew his own sword to prepare for the worst.

However, just as Cera was about to charge him, something occurred to captain; something so strange, ironic and ingenious, that he did something that made Cera stop in his tracks.

The captain chuckled.

"Wow!" he exclaimed, once he was sure that Cera's curiosity was greater than his desire to see the captain's head separated from his body, "You must be a human. How else could you be so totally transparent, and still not understand your real motivations?"

The moment the captain said that, Cera leapt forward with blinding speed, and swinging his sword once, cut the captain's sword arm clean off. The captain could feel his vision blurring from the pain, which started as a dull ache, and began to shoot up his shoulders, and across his chest. He was losing too much blood, though. In fact, he knew that he'd be dead in moments, especially since he was unable to defend himself with his sword. He would have been unable to do so anyway, because Cera was much too fast and skilled.

In a moment, Cera's boot collided with the captain's back, and he tried to use the magic armor spell to keep the blood inside his body for just a little while longer. It only partially worked, though. Cera couldn't damage him with the spell activated, but his kick knocked the captain into the vault door. Captain Link could see the keys dangling from Cera's belt as he collided with the vault, but he had no way of getting them anymore, or even of saving his own life. In that battle, he was about to die, and he had no advantage that he could use.

However, just then, the captain began to think more clearly again, or as clearly as he could while his head was muddled from all the blood he was losing, and he realized that he did have one advantage. He was master of his soul and his motivations. It was an advantage that he'd only gained recently, but it was an advantage that Cera didn't possess. If only, he thought, he could find some way to turn that advantage into a victory.

At the moment, the captain couldn't swing his sword anyway, or even pick it up, so he decided that he might as well use the one weapon that he still had; his words.

"You... you..." the captain sputtered, trying his best to choke the words out, "You're not... doing this for... the people of the... Great Sea..."

"What?" Cera asked, enraged, "What are you saying?"

"That's why... you didn't just... go back to... Earth." the captain coughed out through the growing haze of his own injuries, "The real reason... you wanted to bring... the secrets of real utopia... to Earth... was so that you could be... a hero on Earth... You had something to prove to yourself... You wanted to be great... famous... When you found out... those secrets were gone... you tried to... become a hero to my people... by giving them secrets from... your world... But they wouldn't let you... and that's why you're... lashing out at them... You're angry that there wasn't a country... of the blind in which... you could be king... and you're attacking innocent people... because of that anger... and to convince yourself... that you're some kind of... hero. But you're not. You're the bad guy here!"

The moment the captain uttered that exclamation, Cera's defenses fell. Part of him clearly knew, at that very moment, that the captain's words were absolutely true, and yet, he fought that truth with all his might, as powerfully as he could.

By that point, it seemed as if Cera was divided between the two parts of himself; the part of himself that was lying to him about his true motivations, and the part of himself that deep down inside, knew the truth, and because of that division, his once-flawless technique left him completely, and as he slashed forward with his blade, the captain ducked as quickly as he could, avoiding the slice of the nearly-irresistible sword.

Then, however, something happened that the captain couldn't have predicted. Apparently, Cera's sword was enchanted so heavily, and had somehow become so totally irresistible, that as the captain moved out of its path, it sliced through the entire vault door sideways.

The captain didn't have the strength left to dodge, as the two halves of the door came down on himself and Cera. He merely fell back, head first, into the vault, as the top of the door fell on him, crushing both of his legs. He could barely feel it by that point, however, because of how much blood he'd lost.

As the captain's head collided with the metal floor of the vault, he felt something break under it like a shard of glass, and looked up to see the vault's contents falling all over him from every direction. They were darkness eggs; thousands... no... more like millions of tiny eggs, each carrying a shadow of darkness, each shattering open as they collided with him, opening others that they bordered, which also attached themselves to his body. With each, the stress placed on his mind increased, and the captain felt almost a longing for the inevitable death that awaited the monstrous body he'd been transformed into, but as more and more of the darkness eggs broke open, and more and more of the shadows of darkness contributed their power to him, he could feel as though he was bursting from the inside; as though his body was containing too much, and he couldn't fit them all into even a gigantic form. In the end, he closed his eyes, as he heard the sound of Cera freeing himself from the collapsed vault door by slicing through it again. Then, he began to hear other sounds; voices in his mind; millions of voices, all with the same intention, but that intention, he thought, would die with him.

There was only one problem with that theory. The captain didn't feel dead. In fact, he didn't feel as if he was in any physical pain at all.

Slowly, the captain opened his eyes and looked around. He was still lying on the floor, still with the heavy door on top of his legs, but something about his situation had changed. He wasn't in his third darkness transformation anymore. In fact, he seemed to be perfectly back to normal. He looked just like an ordinary hylian, with all of his limbs intact, and all of his injuries gone. All of the darkness eggs seemed to be gone as well, but the voices hadn't gone away. No matter how much he tried to force them away, they continued to urge him onto a path of destruction, because his will was strong, but it was only one. They were legion.

At the moment, however, he and the darkness shared a common desire; he had to get to his feet.

"My feet?" the captain wondered to himself silently, looking down, because as he grabbed the massive door with both hands; the door which, moments before, had crushed his legs, and lifted it away like a feather, he could see quite plainly that he still had both feet, and both arms too, it seemed. His wooden foot was lying on the floor nearby by itself, as if simply no longer needed. Once again, he was in one piece, although, as he stepped out into the corridor, drawing a look of shock and horror from Cera, he could still see his old arm lying on the floor. However, all of the physical wounds he'd ever suffered in his life seemed to have vanished due to that overwhelming infusion of darkness.

Suddenly, Cera was on top of him again, lashing out with his blade in all directions, but he was still lashing out in anger, so his technique was flawed, just as it had been before, and if the captain could dodge a flawed technique while wounded, he could certainly dodge it while he was healthy. The problem was that to make any headway against that enemy, he'd need to be able to move faster...

Suddenly, as the captain thought that, Cera started to move in slow motion. Only taking a fraction of a second to wonder why his enemy was slowing down, the captain acted on that advantage to run past him, out of the vault, and retrieve the sword that was lying on the floor, still being clutched by his old arm. With that in his hand, he returned to the vault, as Cera's speed seemed to return to normal.

"How..." Cera asked, clearly confounded. It must have seemed, to him, as though his enemy had just vanished in a blur, and re-appeared behind him with a weapon. In fact, he looked like his mind was racing, as though looking desperately for some explanation, but the captain was started to understand the real cause of his incredible, new power.

The captain could tell, at once, that Cera was terrified, and before, he might have offered to let him go, but the darkness infusion had placed a strong will other than his own into his body, and the temptation to strike out hard was too strong.

With a motion too fast to be detected by human eyes, the captain slashed open his enemy's armor like butter, and watched it fall to the floor, as Cera spun around, staring at him in fear. By that point, he was dressed only in a normal shirt, pants and socks, with a sword in one hand. In mortal terror, Cera swung his weapon in a wide ark, causing waves of force to shoot out from his arms as he moved them, but the captain merely ducked under the devastating attacks, which put dents in many of the surrounding walls, then drew back, and delivered a solid blow to Cera's stomach, who was swept back into the far wall of the vault by the force of the punch. He'd dropped his sword from the pain and shock, and clearly, his stomach must have been hurting him badly, but he was obviously still alive.

At that moment, however, another battle of terrible power and ferocity raged; not merely between Cera and the captain, but between the captain and the darkness. That battle raged within his heart. The darkness was fighting to destroy and conquer him, but the captain fought to do the right thing, and he knew that it would be wrong to kill Cera without giving him a chance to yield. The single, strong voice of the captain fought long and hard against the multitude of voices that wished only for bloodshed and despair, and it seemed to be a hopeless fight. Those creatures, so used to transforming people into instruments of doom, knew just how to get under the captain's skin, and turn his emotions against him. If the captain had been just a few months younger, he would have fallen at once before their collective will.

Recently, however, the captain's strength had multiplied a hundredfold, and not just physically, but mentally and morally. He'd become a stronger person in mind and heart. He'd become more and more like the Hero of Time; intelligent, calm, responsible, and as he faced the near-inevitability of crossing the line into senseless murder, he realized that in order to avoid it, he had to make another decision; he had to cross a different kind of line.

In mere moments, the malicious grin vanished from the captain's face. The thrill of victory disappeared from his eyes, and all that was left was a blank expression. From glory-obsession, he'd become emotionless; from dangerous feelings, he'd become dispassionate. The captain had made a horrifying sacrifice. He'd psychologically destroyed every part of himself that would urge him into doing the wrong thing. All that was left, at that point, was a walking moral compass, backed up by knowledge and wisdom, but without the ability to enjoy any of it. As he had been before, he might have cursed Ganondorf and Cera for forcing him to do that to himself, but he'd lost the ability to do that either. His capacity for anger was draining away; broken beyond his own power to repair it.

Even Cera seemed to have noticed that. The face of Captain Link wasn't like a face at all anymore, but like a mountain; cold and impassive; an immovable object. There was no way that Cera could win against that.

"Surrender." the captain said dryly. Cera had hardly expected him to make that offer, but he seemed to realize that he had to take advantage of it, or perish. Leaving his sword where it had fallen, Cera dashed from the vault, and the captain reached down for the belt of his armor, which still lay on the floor, and calmly removed a key from it. That, then, was the key to the cells in the prison. He'd need to get it to his allies as quickly as possible, he thought to himself without any real feelings anymore.

As the captain placed the key carefully into his bag, he turned to leave the vault, but before he could go anywhere, he saw a sight that vaguely surprised him, though it probably shouldn't have. Ganondorf was standing before him, no longer wearing the robes that he'd seen the king of evil wear as a child. In fact, he'd donned great, black armor, which almost seemed to pulse with magic. The captain was beyond being frightened or angry by that point, but he knew that he had to get past Ganondorf, to get to the prisons.

"Who are you?" Ganondorf asked, an expression of confusion on his face as he looked the captain over for a few moments, but suddenly, as his eyes took in the bodies of two members of his guard, the disappearance of the third, of the darkness eggs, and of the door, as well as the features of the person standing before him, he let out a sharp laugh of recognition.

"I see." Ganondorf realized aloud, grinning confidently, "Captain Link, was it? The so-called 'Hero of Winds?' Clearly not the wimp you were as a child anymore. You must have learned that much from the Hero of Time himself."

The captain didn't feel insulted by that comment, however. He understood what Ganondorf meant, but he was beyond feelings at that point.

"So, the sages are your friends." Ganondorf noted in an almost mocking tone of voice, interpreting the situation quickly, without needing to be told a thing, "Very well. I don't really need them."

Then suddenly, Ganondorf waved both hands to the sides, and the captain could see that some form of magical energy was streaming out from his fingertips into the walls of the fortress. At last, Ganondorf closed his hands back into fists again, then relaxed them back to their previous positions at his sides, and the flow of energy stopped.

"There you are." Ganondorf remarked, just as calmly as before, "The enchantments holding your friends captive have been released. Even that admiral, who I used to lure you here is free."

"How will they get out of this fortress?" the captain asked, still not sure that he'd gotten everything he wanted out of that man.

"Simple." Ganondorf replied, "I'll lower it to sea level. At that level, this fortress serves quite well as an ordinary island."

The captain was mildly surprised that Ganondorf was being so accommodating. After all, he'd just broken into the man's fortress and killed most of his guard. Was Ganondorf just going to let that slide, he wondered?

"What about me," the captain asked next, "and what about you?"

"Oh, I'll continue with my mission," Ganondorf replied firmly, "and you, of course, can't be allowed to leave this place, since it's evident that you're a danger to my plans."

"Interesting. How do you intend to stop me?"

As he listened to that thoroughly dispassionate question, however, Ganondorf smiled broadly, and asked, "Do you really think that you're the only person who's ever undergone a baptism of darkness?"

That time, the captain was genuinely surprised. Ganondorf seemed completely composed, and fully in control of his own personality, and yet, somehow, he claimed to have earned the same power source that the captain had used to claim victory over Cera.

"Fascinating." the captain remarked, with almost no inflection in his voice.

"Indeed." Ganondorf replied; true amazement in his eyes, "Most of the people who go through the transformation are driven permanently mad by it, and yet, somehow, without quite having a principle-based mission, which matters more to you that your own wellbeing, you've managed to master the transformation through only a partial self-sacrifice. I'm impressed."

Then, Ganondorf turned away from the vault and waved his hand in front of the central door, between the vault and the equipment room, and the captain stepped quickly from the vault as he heard it open.

"When you destroyed my guard, you upset my timetable." Ganondorf commented, as he stepped through the door, indicating that the captain should follow him, "Not only that, but you've aroused my curiosity as to the true location of the Hero of Time. That's the only thing I'm really concerned with at the moment."

"Timetable?" the captain asked curiously, "What exactly were you planning to do?"

"Alright." Ganondorf replied, however, smiling in an accommodating, and even friendly-looking way, "I might as well tell you."

As the captain followed Ganondorf into the next room, he looked around, and could see that it was a very dark room, and a very large one, but also one built with great care and complexity. Everywhere, there were small holes in the walls, apparently designed for absorbing and redirecting magic, as Ganondorf had demonstrated outside. On the lower parts of the walls, there were control devices, partly designed in an interface format, but obviously pertaining only to energy flows, and the direction of the magic, which Ganondorf used to keep his fortress in the air. At the center of the room was a chair, with two panels on the armrests, in which Ganondorf sat a few moments after having entered the room. The room itself was over a dozen yards in every direction, and the captain could tell that that was the control room for the entire fortress. It was from there that the whirlwinds altered the wind of the Great Sea, from there that the eggs of darkness had been launched, and from there that the deadly traps the captain had noticed before were obviously controlled.

"For quite some time," Ganondorf said, still smiling broadly, "I've been wiping out the islands in the southern sections of the Great Sea; making each, in turn, uninhabitable as I passed my ship over them, but it's been a bit boring, to be honest; almost methodical. It's required no strategy, because no one could oppose me. However, your arrival here has changed all that. I've recently learned that reinforcements from the villages of the sages have begun to appear on Isle Prime. For the moment, they're still relatively helpless, but who knows what the future might bring? Faced with this new information, I've decided to destroy Isle Prime next, and attempt to exterminate the remaining hylians by moving outward from that isle. If you want, though, I'll spare you. Your skill and combat savvy have earned my respect, and you'd have great potential if properly trained by an intelligent teacher. After having lost so many of my helpers, I'd feel disappointed to be unable to gain anything from this encounter. Please don't force me to kill you. Show me that you're willing to do what's truly best for these people. Help me bring them to a quick end, and I'll spare your life."

The captain was, in that moment, too hollow to really feel stunned by what he was hearing, but he understood what Ganondorf had just said, so after a few moments of careful consideration, he gave the evil king the only reply he could.

"You're a lot like Cera, in motivation." he said, "You see that the world around you has lost so much; everything, in fact, that you once valued, and it makes you feel bitter, so you've projected those feelings of bitterness onto the inhabitants of the Great Sea, but Ganondorf; they don't all feel the same way you do. Sure, they worry about starving to death, and things of that nature, but some of them enjoy life here. I know that may be hard; even impossible for you to imagine, but there are and always will be people who will enjoy life no matter what, and there will always be people, like you, who will always be discontented with it. That's the real reason you've never been truly happy, isn't it? You look at life with such grim pessimism, that you'd never be content with anything."

For a moment, Ganondorf shook his head, then with a look of sadness in his eyes, said, "You don't even have access to your emotions anymore. Don't try to analyze mine."

"But I'm right, aren't I?"

The sadness in Ganondorf's eyes turned at once to anger at those words, and he exclaimed, "It's plain you'll try to fight me if I attempt to destroy your home island. Although I hate to do this, I fear that I have no choice but to kill you."

"And I have no choice but to kill you," the captain replied, "but I've seen your soul; something that even the Hero of Time never saw. I only wish I had the emotional presence to determine whether that's good or tragic, but right now, I know what the right thing to do is."

With those words, the captain drew his sword again, preparing for an attack, as Ganondorf, looking extremely sad, rose into the air, as though being propelled upward by sheer willpower alone, and both of his hands, covered by his gauntlets, glowed with magic power. Ganondorf was the first to attack, hurling blasts of disruptive energy from his palms. The captain attempted to sever one of them with his sword, but found the weapon disintegrating in his grip the moment that it touched the energy. Without much other choice, he let go of it and sped up, dodging the remaining blasts, which were moving much slower than he was. Then, he ducked to one side, in an attempt to move in for another attack...

And Ganondorf was standing right in front of him. He who'd come to be called the king of evil had sensed his approach and intercepted him, and the captain had only just been able to track his motions, as Ganondorf struck him across the face with the back of his left boot.

The captain felt the impact on his skin. Not only was Ganondorf empowered by darkness, just as he'd said he was, but he seemed to also be using a strength-enhancing enchantment of some kind, because he was even stronger than the captain; faster too. There couldn't be any doubt of that. Plus, being hundreds of years old, he probably had some kind of special talents or techniques, which would give him the advantage over the captain in a fight. However, despite all of that, the Hero of Winds refused to give up. Even as the blow caused him to fly backwards through the air, and into one of the control interfaces on the walls, the captain had already decided that he'd fight Ganondorf to the bitter end.

However, as soon as the captain hit the panel, shattering it completely, he felt yet another impact collide with his chest. That time, Ganondorf had sped forth through the air, until he was right on top of Captain Link, then brought both fists down on the hero's chest with such incredible force, that the captain's body dented the metal floor underneath him, as he plunged downward under the impact. The pain was terrifying, but still, he struggled to get back to his feet.

However, the captain wasn't fast enough, and Ganondorf's boot once again hit his face, that time from the bottom, knocking him onto his back. He could feel his jaw rattling under the blows of his enemy, but there wasn't a thing he could do. If Ganondorf had chosen to start firing energy blasts at him again, he'd have been absolutely helpless.

Fortunately for the captain, however, Ganondorf didn't take that approach. Instead, he stood nearby, close enough to attack if it became necessary, and spoke again.

"I think you'll find that you simply don't have the power to beat me. Unlike you, I was gifted as a child, so I've had much longer to practice the use of my powers and devices. You're remarkable, considering where you come from, and who you once were, but even with training, you'll never even be close to my level."

Then quickly, Ganondorf shot out one leg sideways, but that time, the captain anticipated the attack, and raised his left arm to deflect it.

* * *

Tomar sighed as he strode through the halls of the flying fortress, stopping every so often to examine the bodies of the former members of Ganondorf's guard. He wasn't smiling, because of course, he rarely had much opportunity to enjoy himself, and he was certainly involved in an unpleasant business, but of the many aspects of his job, he probably enjoyed that one the most. Perhaps, although Tomar dreaded the very notion, he enjoyed it more because he was in his element, but he preferred to believe that he considered the business of walking among the dead preferable to the other aspects of his work, because it so often heralded the end of a mission. His missions all ended the same way, but that was the price he paid for being who he was. His was a job that the world couldn't do without. It had pleased him, of course, to hear that Cera had fled; alive, to some part of the Great Sea, far beyond that conflict. That was one less person dead. Still, there was more death to come. Tomar could feel it in his bones, so to speak. The question was, who would die? That was the only real mystery, as it always was for Tomar.

Just then, however, Tomar felt a mass of accelerated molecules pass by him, and for a moment, he stared directly through them, at the person who was rushing right past him, through fire teleportation. That person, it seemed, stared directly back too, but only for a fraction of a second. He couldn't, it seemed, control the speed at which he teleported, and he certainly couldn't slow down to examine a stranger. Yet, both Tomar and the man in mid-teleport recognized each another, in some sense. Tomar was well aware of who that man was, and despite the severity of his task, it gave him great hope to see that person again.

* * *

The captain had been prepared for Ganondorf to attempt a different type of attack, to counter his block, or even to use his arm as a step, for some kind of leaping attack, but Ganondorf had merely poured more power into his kick, and for the first time, the captain began to understand the real, horrible force that backed Ganondorf's actions. Strong as he was, and prepared as he was, Ganondorf's attack was so powerful, that his arm broke in two places under the force of the kick, and the captain was flung across the room once more by the impact. His collision with the metal wall wasn't nearly as painful as the attacks of his foe. By comparison, it barely hurt at all, in fact. However, he was beginning to realize, in his heart, that he couldn't defeat that enemy. It was more than just one warrior against another. The difference between them was a lifetime of proper training and careful contemplation. The captain had earned all of his abilities and skills quite recently, and in something of a rush, so he was still having some difficulty sorting through them, but to Ganondorf, they were second nature. There was no way he could win.

Slowly, the captain wrenched himself loose from the bent and twisted metal, and turned around slowly, to see Ganondorf, still standing across the room from him, firing a disruptive beam in his direction. He barely had time to blink, as it moved towards him, and for a few moments, time almost seemed to slow down, but he still couldn't move. He couldn't get out of the way of the blast, but if he stayed where he was, it was going to hit him.

However, just then, the captain heard a noise, like fire being shot from an enchanted trap, then saw a blink of light, and in moments, the disruptive blast had rebounded on Ganondorf, who had, almost effortlessly, deflected it away, with an aura surrounding the back of his hand, causing it to collide with a part of the ceiling, where it tore apart over a square foot of metal. Once again, Ganon had a look of worry in his eyes, but the captain knew he wasn't the one who Ganondorf was afraid of. At once, his eyes followed the evil king's gaze a bit to the right, and there was Link; there was the Hero of Time. He was standing perfectly still, with a calm look in his eyes, but was obviously angered by Ganondorf's actions, and that was the only time that the captain ever saw the Hero of Time without having mixed feelings, or for that matter, any feelings, about him.

"Sorry about this, Link." the Hero of Time remarked, without daring to look into his eyes, "But there's something I have to do for you before we talk anymore."

Then, there was another swift flash of light, and the captain looked down at his chest in shock, to find that the blade of the Master Sword was buried a full inch into his flesh. However... There was no pain. If anything, it felt... calming. After only a few moments, the captain's feelings seemed to start returning to him, but in a calm, composed sort of way; not a sudden rush of emotion. It was a feeling that he'd thought he'd lost forever, and with that feeling restored to him, there also came the onslaught of dark voices again; those tempting influences, which had been so strong, that the captain had damaged his own psyche to rid himself of them. They were like the stars in the sky; unnaturally-numerous and all sending out the same kind of signal, but then, one of those voices vanished from the captain's mind. There were so many, that he barely noticed at first, but then another disappeared, and another. Soon, the million voices of darkness were diminishing by the thousands, until at last, every single one of them was gone, and the only voice left in the captain's mind was his own.

The captain watched in genuine awe, because he could see that the process, whatever it was, had caused a small cloud of what appeared to be black powder to encircle the Master Sword like a miniature tornado, and then, Link lifted the Master Sword back out of the captain's chest, mysteriously leaving no wound, and held it high in the air once again. At once, when the sword was over Link's head, a brilliant light shone out from the blade of evil's bane, and the cloud of darkness was simply gone; wiped from existence, as though it had never been. By that point, the captain had a million questions, all bursting to get out. However, it seemed that the Hero of Time had anticipated some of them, because he was already answering them, even before the captain could ask them aloud.

"I'm afraid you'll have lost the power given to you by the darkness." Link remarked with some clear mixed feelings in his voice, "If you ever want to reach that level of power again, you'll need to do it the hard way, and there isn't enough time. Ganondorf has to be stopped now."

As he said those things, however, Link looked back into the captain's eyes, and a warm, heartfelt smile crept across his lips as he did so. The captain could tell that Link meant every word of what he said next.

"You did a great job, my friend. You've come far and fast, and you've earned my respect and admiration. You've done more than your part, and won more than your share of battles, and you've earned the right to be called a hero, but when I said that no hero is ever alone, this is exactly what I was referring to. Heroes can never take on everyone by themselves. They need the help of their friends, and just as I've had yours, you'll have mine now."

The captain was so elated at hearing Link say those things to him, that his shock and worry were, for a moment, pushed aside. In spite of that, though, his curiosity surfaced again in just a moment.

"Link..." the captain sputtered in confusion, "How did you do that? How did you cure me of the dark infestation?"

Link looked a bit confused at first, but soon, he seemed to just decide that it didn't make much difference, in the end.

"To be honest," Link replied, "I'm not sure. I know the Master Sword can't harm those whose hearts are good, but up until now, I had no idea it could purify a possessed person. Maybe that's just one of the abilities it's always had, that I never knew about. I've found that the Master Sword reveals its abilities to its wielder in its own time, when it feels like its partner is ready."

"It must really have hated me." the captain muttered, with a bit of shame in his voice, but Link shook his head with the same calm smile as before.

"The Master Sword isn't capable of hate, but it may have disapproved of you; at least at first. I have a feeling it'd react differently to you now."

Then, the captain's thoughts turned to his friends again, and he asked, "Link, could you purify the others too? I mean Rei-Nu, Harriet and Thom? Could they be cured?"

"Well, I'm not entirely certain." Link replied, "I mean, I've only done this once, but my instinct is to say yes. Of course, I'm afraid I can't do anything for them until after this battle is won, and I'd probably have an easier time winning it if you weren't too nearby."

By that point, the captain could feel that somehow, the purifying of his body had also healed his arm, but he knew that Link was right. Without the strength of darkness reinforcing his attack power, he stood even less of a chance against Ganondorf than he had before, and he still had his friends to check up on.

"I assume that's not a problem." Link said, turning to look Ganondorf in the eye very warily.

"Without the power given to him by the eggs of darkness and the sword he stole from my equipment room, he's no longer a threat to me or my mission." Ganondorf replied swiftly, "He can leave if he wants. At the moment, it's only you that I notice."

Link and the captain nodded to one another, and in that simple glance, volumes of meaning were contained. The captain rushed from the room, as Link swung the Master Sword into a position from which it could quickly be used in battle.

* * *

For several seconds, Link and Ganondorf stared across the room at one another, neither moving even a single muscle. At last, however, Ganondorf was the first to speak.

"The last time I saw you, prior to a few weeks ago," Ganondorf said at last, "I told you that I was off to seek a land that would share my vision, and that you weren't to set foot on it. Well, I have a confession to make. I never bothered to search for that land. I didn't care about finding a land that shared my vision; not really. All I wanted was the power to overwhelm you. Once I'd found a power that I believed could stop you, I headed right back towards Hyrule again, intent on finishing what I'd started. Of course, it all depended on my being able to separate you from the stone sheath of the Master Sword, but imagine my shock... yes; my shock and dismay... when I found that you no longer existed. You had, apparently, vanished while pursuing some apparition, less than a month before, so my tremendously ingenious plan was wasted. I had no target worthy of it. Oh, the people of Hyrule tried to stop me; the guards, the knights, the First Force, but I killed them all; every single one. I admit that for quite some time, I almost thought you were a coward. Looking back on it, though, I wish I'd been a bit more subtle. Maybe then, both Hyrule and I might have survived long enough to witness your reappearance."

For a few more seconds, both were silent, but then, Link said, "I think I ought to thank you. You could have attacked me while I was curing the captain of his ailment, but you didn't."

"Don't bother thanking me, Hero of Time." Ganondorf replied, however, "I owed you that much; and perhaps even a bit more than that, just for breathing a bit of hope back into my heart. In fact, much of the reason I've decided to attack Isle Prime next was to help convince you that this world isn't worth saving; to help remind you of your real mission."

Link frowned when he heard that, but he wasn't surprised.

"Yes." he remarked, "I thought as much. Like everyone, you want to win, but you want Hyrule to win almost as badly. It's a pity we can't work together, at least for a while, but you and I both know exactly when and where you planned to stab me in the back, and I think we can both agree that if you attacked me while I was traveling through time, the outcome would be thrown into chaos. Maybe neither of us would succeed. It's better to settle this between the two of us here and now."

"Better for you, perhaps." Ganondorf replied, "But you're robbing me of my chance at victory through that decision. I can't travel back in time without the time guard, the sages have to rebuild it, and for them, I need you. It's plain they won't help me."

As Ganondorf said that, however, Link was starting to feel a bit perplexed, so he spoke again, hoping to clear a few things up.

"Ganondorf, you're so close to the answer to all your problems, and yet, you refuse to accept it. The enemy you really face isn't without; it's within."

That was the second time in the last hour that someone had pinned the blame for Ganondorf's unhappiness squarely on himself, and he responded in the same way; with violence.

Reaching out both hands, Ganondorf fired off a disruptive blast, which zipped across the room much faster than Link had expected it to, but still not quite fast enough to get under his guard. With lightning reflexes, Link swung the Master Sword against the blast of disruptive energy, deflecting it back to its source, but when he got a good look, he discovered that Ganondorf had vanished.

On instinct, Link used the Master Sword to draw in and focus as much of the good intentions of the people of the Great Sea as he could, feeling the glow around his body increase, as their power made him stronger. The problem was, he knew he couldn't match Ganondorf's strength. Link had called upon the inner strength of hundreds of people to aid him, but Ganondorf's strength was also being augmented, and by millions of shadows. In addition, Ganondorf was physically stronger than Link, simply by virtue of being a male gerudo, and he was also wearing his power-enhancing battle armor.

Link's mind raced as he tried to think of an advantage that he could use against the king of evil. Ganondorf was stronger, might well be faster, and was certainly every bit as skilled. Link had the Master Sword, of course, and that was an advantage in a few ways, but he dearly wished he could have had a better one; especially since Ganondorf knew about that particular advantage already.

Suddenly, Link felt Ganondorf's elbow collide with his back, and had to struggle to keep from screaming as he flew forward, being flung by the force of the blow, towards the opposite wall. However, Link reacted quickly, and despite the pain, he spun around in mid-air to brace both feet against the wall. Then, he leapt horizontally back the way he'd come, and soared through the air in Ganondorf's direction, even as the king of evil was himself headed towards Link.

However, at the last second, Ganondorf veered to one side, nearly faking Link out. Quickly, Link dug the Master Sword into the floor, and his momentum continued to carry him forward for over a yard, creating a deep gash in the floor before he spun sideways after Ganondorf...

...Only to find that the king of evil has disappeared from view again.

"This is getting me nowhere." Link thought sourly, "At this rate, he'll wind up picking me off one blow at a time, unless I do something pretty drastic. But first, I need to find some way to find him fast enough..."

With all his senses on the alert, Link scanned the room, looking for any sign of Ganondorf's presence; a flash of light, a clang of metal, a blip of power, or anything else. Just then, he heard a short, gentle "clink" on the floor to one side, and knew that it was time to act.

* * *

Ganondorf swung at the Hero of Time from one side with incredible speed, but as he did so, Link was suddenly surrounded by brilliant beams of light, then he simply wasn't there anymore. Ganondorf had certainly not expected that form of evasion, so he had to stumble to regain his footing, and in that brief moment, when he was forced to slow down, he heard the sound of a sword being swung from behind him, and as quickly as he could, leapt to one side.

Ganondorf felt loose energy spilling back and forth across his left hip, and in and out of a small cut in his skin in that area, as he quickly regained his footing. Link appeared very disappointed that Ganondorf had survived that attack, however.

Somehow, Link had teleported behind Ganondorf with great speed the moment he noticed the attack coming his way, and attempted a counter-attack with the Master Sword. Obviously, Link's goal had been to cut Ganondorf in half from top to bottom like a fish, but he'd dodged quickly enough that the only damage was a small cut on his left hip, and a decent chunk of his armor in that area, which had been sliced clean off. However, Ganondorf had gotten into the habit of channeling so much magic through his armor, that energy was spilling out of the points at which the armor had been severed, and creating some nasty burn marks around his wound.

As quickly as he could, Ganondorf cut off the magic to that section of the armor, and glared at Link with hate. In some ways, Ganondorf blamed himself for giving the Hero of Time the chance to run around freely. He'd certainly underestimated him. He hadn't expected the Hero of Time, or anyone, for that matter, to be able to find and recover the Master Sword. Still, he couldn't have known that Link could teleport that quickly. It was probably an amalgam of fire teleportation with the Farore's Wind spell, accelerated to its greatest speed by the power of the hearts of the people of the Great Sea, which was being drawn in by the Master Sword, but knowing what it was and where it came from didn't solve the problem. With enough practice, the Hero of Time could use that technique to compensate for Ganondorf's superior speed, and his sword gave him an edge in close-range combat.

"I have to put an end to him now!" Ganondorf thought, with worry tugging at his heart, "I can't let him get used to this power of his."

* * *

"That was almost good enough, Hero of Time." Ganondorf said aloud at last, "It's a shame, for you, that you weren't successful in that attack, because I've had hundreds of years to perfect and develop my technique. Now, it seems I have to play another of my cards."

Then, Ganondorf was gone again, and at first, Link thought that he'd attempt the same attack again, as uncharacteristic as it might be for a mastermind like him, but then, the evil king re-appeared less than a foot from Link's nose, and in response, the Hero of Time swung out at the evil one, but immediately regretted it, as his sword passed directly through his opponent, and he felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his back. At once, he realized what Ganondorf had done. Somehow, he'd created an illusion of himself in front of Link, intended to distract him while the real Ganondorf attacked from behind.

Once more, Link flew through the air, and once more, he righted himself with his sword, and the first sight he saw upon regaining his footing was Ganondorf's face again.

Link's mind raced, as he considered that strange illusion trick, trying to anticipate his enemy's next move. At first, Ganondorf had used the illusion in front of him to distract, while he snuck up from behind. Would he have expected Link to spin around and try to hit the one coming from behind him again, or would he try the exact same trick again?

No. Link had to give Ganondorf more credit than that. He was nothing if not creative. Ganondorf would try the opposite trick next, using himself as a distraction, ordering his illusion to perform a fake-out attack, and then attacking himself. Risking his well-tenderized back on that gamble, Link lashed out at the Ganondorf in front of him yet again with the Master Sword, and found that he'd hit the jackpot.

Ganondorf had jerked back in time to avoid the worst of the blow, but his chest plate had still gotten a nasty slice taken out of it, right in the middle, and there was a minor flesh wound on his chest. That time, Ganondorf had cut off the flow of power to his chest plate at once, but it didn't seem to have made him feel any better.

"Fine, then!" Ganondorf exclaimed, clearly enraged by that point, though unfortunately, not too badly injured, "Teleportation or no teleportation, you won't get close to me again!"

Then, he leapt into the air, and had soon begun to soar overhead; both hands glowing with magic power. Link nearly smiled at that point, though. He was back on familiar territory. The deflecting of magical energy blasts was something that he knew he could still manage successfully.

At least, that was how it seemed, at first; a simple matter of knocking a single blast of energy back at Ganondorf. Even as the glowing projectile flew towards him, Link never doubted his ability to accomplish that feat...

However, the moment the Master Sword made contact with the glowing projectile, something unexpected occurred. It was indeed deflected from its intended course, but rather than flying back towards the wicked king, the blast shattered into a hundred small pieces, and as Link watched in horror, the pieces began to whirl in the air, encircling him from all directions. Moments later, through the strobe lights that those tiny, energy orbs were generating as they spun around Link faster and faster, the Hero of Time could see Ganondorf landing back on the ground, not far away.

"I suggest you don't try to reach me anymore." Ganondorf said from the other side of the barrier of energy lights, "Those orbs are faster than either of us, and they'll probably blow your head off if you try to get out of that little barrier they've made. As a matter of fact, when I was designing this spell, that was my original intention; a magical energy attack, designed with the sole purpose of being able to beat an enemy who can deflect energy. This is the result. Also, I can make them attack you whenever I want, so trying that teleportation trick of yours to escape won't work either."

Only thinking about it for a moment, Link jabbed the Master Sword forward into the stream of flying orbs, but found that rather than be deflected away, that merely caused them to zip both back and forth across the room. Ganondorf dodged the flying projectiles with great skill, but more than one hit Link, vaporizing parts of his skin. The pain was terrible, and worse yet, Ganondorf was about to retaliate, in response to what Link had just tried.

It was always a horrible feeling; being in the grip of one's enemy, watching as they prepared to deliver a blow that might very well end his life, and being utterly helpless to stop them. Link had been in that position several times before, but it never got any easier, or any less terrifying. That was how he felt as he watched Ganondorf wave his hand, casting another brief spell, and it was the last thing that he saw before every single one of the glowing orbs of power collided with him from all sides.

* * *

Link couldn't see anything but darkness, he couldn't smell anything at all, and the only thing he could feel was his own pain, flooding every nerve of his body all over. He was also having trouble hearing or sensing anything, and even thinking. Somehow, though, he could feel a message; a message that seemed to come from out of nothing, and which probably would have been lost on him if he hadn't known who it was from. It was a message from the one person in the world who never spoke to him without a sensible reason; it was a message from Princess Zelda.

"Link!" he felt her yelling, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." he thought slowly, hardly able to drive himself to even such a simple reply as that.

"You're the Hero of Time!" Zelda exclaimed, "Everyone depends on you! You're not allowed to fail!"

"Zelda!" Link thought sadly, "I'm sorry. I wasn't good enough to beat him."

"Don't give me that!" that time, it was another voice; the voice of councilmember Geelin, "After all that griping you did to me when you first got here about how disappointed you were in Captain Link, and how you didn't expect him to be able to learn to be a hero, I could tell from the start that you knew the backbone of any hero was his willpower. Are you telling me you can't face a little pain?"

"I... My body's being torn apart! This is a total mismatch!" Link stuttered, forced to think just enough to consider his words, and that little effort was already beginning to cause him terrible agony; worse than anything he'd felt in months.

"Our people call that basic training!" that time, it was Impa, and Link could hear her voice clearly, "I worked alongside you! I respected you! I think I may even have admired you! Was I wrong to feel that way?"

Then, there was another voice. That time, it was the voice of the former princess Ruto, speaking to him in shame.

"Before I entered the Conflict of Champions by your side, you told me that the difference between us was that you always did what needed to be done. You said you weren't a whiner. You've had half your skin blown off, but so what? That's happened to me before, but I pressed on. I wouldn't give up, and not just because I wanted you to like me!"

"I wanted to like myself." that was the voice of Byrna; Hyrule's predominant scientist, and a member of its First Force as well, which Link had been the leader of, back in Hyrule, "I'm not sure why, but I made a lot of mistakes in my life; a lot of bad choices. I didn't always consider things the way I should have, or plan ahead the way I ought to, and even at the end of it all, I knew I'd never be a social butterfly like other hylians, but I didn't give up, because I wanted to be something that I could respect. Don't you?"

"C'mon!" Link heard Darunia say, "You've beat Ganon before, you can do it again. He's not up to your level... Our level."

"Us?" Link asked into the darkness, as the pain increased, "Are you really there? Join me! Help me fight him!"

"I have no intention of doing you such a gross dishonor!" Link heard Stalflare's derisive voice exclaim from the darkness, "Even if I could help you in claiming this victory, do you want me to? Do you want me to save you from outward harm, while you wallow in your weakness? You coward!"

"Stalflare, no!" Link exclaimed, as the pain increased again, "I'm not being cowardly! I just can't do anything to defeat him!"

However, that time, even as he spoke those words, they rang hollow.

"It doesn't matter why you ain't winning." replied Mido's voice from the darkness, "I knew you'd never amount to nothin', and you haven't. The Deku Tree's death, Ganon gettin' the Triforce, the drowning of Hyrule... It's all your fault! Are you just gonna lie down and let it rest at that? Are you just gonna let this moron destroy everything good in the world; just feed it to the shadows like a bowl of applesauce? Just put up with never seeing Hyrule again?"

Then came the last straw, and the last voice, because Link could see Saria's face in front of his own; an expression of bottomless sadness in her eyes as she asked, "Are you just going to put up with never seeing me again?"

Since he'd first come to that time period, the oppressive nature of his situation had been eating away at the hopes of the Hero of Time, at the same time as he'd been struggling to awaken them in others. Even as he'd united the peoples of the sages with those of Isle Prime, even as he'd trained the captain to be a hero, even as he'd reclaimed the Master Sword, the fact that Hyrule was dead and buried in that time period had always been there, always striving to destroy his motivations and tear down his hope, but the visions of his friends and allies, both from that time period, and from his own had reawakened something inside himself, which he'd been starting to lose track of. As Saria's last question echoed in his mind, Link's own answer echoed back, and the two continued to echo in a vicious harmony, which sustained him as he confronted the horrible, flesh-searing pain, and stumbled to his feet again...

"NO! NO! NO!"

* * *

Ganondorf was absolutely shocked to see the Hero of Time back on his feet. His body was covered with so many open wounds, that he looked dead already, but Ganondorf could see that the Hero of Time's legendary willpower would carry him forward until his entire body was completely vaporized, so quickly, he rose back up into the air, and began preparing another splitting beam, as he'd come to think of them. That one, he decided, would tear Link apart, right down to the bones.

* * *

Forcing his skin and his muscles to do their jobs almost through sheer force of will, Link held out the Master Sword as he got ready for the next barrage. He knew that he had to find a way to defend himself from that attack, because if he got hit by it one more time, he'd definitely be toast.

Link gripped the Master Sword hard with worry, as the glowing collection of tiny orbs tore through the air in his direction. At the last second, Link took another swing with the Master Sword, and watched the hundred small weapons dislodge themselves from the main group, and fly into the air. At the moment, the power he'd gotten from the people of the Great Sea was helping to hold him together, but even so, he could only take so much, and as the orbs began to spin around him, he vanished at once, before they could completely close him in.

* * *

Ganondorf reacted quickly, spinning around to look for the Hero of Time, but the orbs reacted quicker, chasing him even as he teleported, swerving around Ganondorf to pursue Link. However, Link's teleportation had taken him behind Ganondorf, and although the king of evil managed to dodge Link's next sword-swing completely, he could already see that his last attack wouldn't kill him. Link's entire body was glowing blue, and the first of the many small orbs was exploding around him, colliding with the force field spell of Nayru's Love, which surrounded his skin. The tiny explosions, it turned out, were doing as much hard to Ganondorf as to Link, because in that moment of impact, those flashes of light had obscured Ganondorf's vision of Link completely.

However, as Ganon backed off a bit, waiting for the orbs to finish impacting with Link's shield, he heard another sound, and saw another flash of light reflect off the walls of the chamber. Then, he felt an invulnerable fist slam into his jaw. There was another flash, and another fist slammed into his face from the other side, then another flash, and he felt two powerful feet collide with his head from above, knocking him downwards. Expecting pursuit, Ganon leapt upward again, but at once, he felt a terrible pain flood through his body. The blade of the Master Sword was protruding from the front of his chest plate.

Link drew the blade back out, and landed on the floor nearby, but the sword had already done its work. Ganondorf was dying. Even before his limp back hit the floor, he could already feel that one of his organs had been punctured, and knew he'd be dead within moments.

Ganondorf had been killed more than once over the course of his existence. Yet, he'd never viewed death as an ending, as much as a transition into his next return, and yet, as he felt his very organs tear themselves apart inside of him, he faced the real possibility that that death might last forever. That death might be his last.

That possibility, however, became a certainty, as he looked over Link's shoulder to see, standing behind him, a brown-haired young man, in a pair of black boots, which seemed to be lined with powdered metal. The man was also dressed in a green shirt and brown pants. Ganondorf had never seen that man before in his life, but he did recognize him. They always recognized him.

Still, Ganondorf had lost, and he hated that. He hated it horribly. However things unfolded from then on, he wouldn't be the one to claim victory, and it infuriated him. It infuriated him so much, that he chose to give the Hero of Time some very haunting last words; the only revenge of which he was still capable. Nearly choking on his own blood, Ganondorf looked Link right in the eye, with a terrible hate burning in his own gaze, and gasped out, "You'll have to do better than tha..."

Then, he collapsed to the floor, and Ganondorf's unnaturally-long, horribly-unhappy life finally came to its end.

* * *

With his battle against Ganondorf finally won, Link began the hard struggle of using his remaining power to try to patch up his wounded body as much as he possible could. It was extremely hard, and it wasn't exactly a perfect job, but it was keeping him alive, at least. He knew that if he let go of the power of the Master Sword for even a moment, it could mean his death, so Link's struggle continued, as he limped from the room. It was both a physical struggle, against the unearthly pain consuming his every nerve, and a mental struggle to hold onto the power of the Master Sword. He knew for certain that if he failed in either one, he'd most certainly die, but he couldn't keep limping around. He had to take a risk, and attempt a teleportation.

However, a teleportation to where? Link was torn by that dilemma. A part of him... a very large part, in fact, wanted to teleport to Ganondorf's prison, to make sure that Saria and the others were alright, but he also knew that he had to keep himself alive. Link still had a mission to complete; a mission so important, that even his concern over Saria and the others was secondary. However, he was also feeling something that, from the very moment he'd entered that time period, he'd been hoping to feel. He was feeling as though he could leave the safety of the sages in the hands of the true Hero of Winds; he was feeling as though he could trust the Hero of Winds with something vitally important; he was feeling as thought he could rely on the former captain of the Seeker to truly be the hero he'd been meant to be, just like the members of the First Force back home. The Hero of Winds had exceeded his expectations.

So, saying a silent prayer that he'd be able to maintain his concentration for the duration of the trip, Link vanished in a blinding flash of light, and continued the struggle to hold himself together, as he sped towards Isle Prime...

* * *

About halfway down the fortress, the Hero of Winds noticed that the traps seemed to have been turned off. Naturally, that would have made the going easier, but he had a feeling that it would wind up being a curse in disguise, and sure enough, mere moments later, the entire fortress gave a violent lurch, and the captain wasn't sure how, but he knew that it was sinking. Sure enough, Ganon had been telling the truth when he'd said that he'd lowered the fortress to sea level, but somehow, all the magic supporting the fortress had just blinked out of existence, which must have been why the traps weren't working anymore. On the one hand, that meant that Ganon was probably dead, and it also meant that the walls of the fortress prisons wouldn't be invulnerable anymore, most likely, both of which were good news, but without the altered wind currents that propelled that fortress against gravity and other natural forces, it was basically an enormous rock in the middle of the ocean, and it would probably sink into the sea in no time, which meant that if they didn't all get out at once, they'd drown.

Chunks of falling rock rained down on the captain as the entire fortress started to break apart from the abnormal stress being placed on it, and the fact that it was no longer enchanted to protect it from that kind of stress. The captain actually had to leap over a crack in one of the hallways, which was growing wider by the second, on his way to the dungeon.

One thing that worried the Hero of Winds immensely, however, was the fact that his team still had no boat, so even if they escaped the fortress and fell into the sea, they'd probably drown anyways.

However, the moment that he rounded the corner to enter the prison area, the captain knew that he didn't have to worry anymore. Not only were all the members of his crew, and the admiral out of their cells, but since most of the people working on his ship were shadow warriors, they were already using the shadows of their cells for a type of shadow teleportation, ferrying the others to the nearest island before returning for the next passenger.

Of course, the Hero of Winds couldn't teleport, so he knew that he needed their help, but for some reason, that didn't make him feel that bad anymore. Maybe it was just like what Link had said; heroes were always able to rely on others to help them out. The captain had to admit that he felt, in some ways, proud to have those people as his friends, and to be able to rely on them.

So, within a few seconds, the entire group was gathered on the island nearest to the flying fortress' position, still close enough to watch, as it sank beneath the waves forever.

* * *

When Link woke up a few days later, in a poorly-clothed bed on Isle Prime, he wasn't sure where he was, or what he was doing there at first, but then it all came back to him in a flash; his search for the sages, for the Master Sword, his victory over Ganon, and the mission that he still needed to complete. Above all else, the mission occupied his mind. He knew that he still had to find some way to awaken the sage of time, and that alone might take all day.

However, after taking stock of his memories and his priorities, Link's thoughts focused, next, on the location and wellbeing of the Master Sword, so he started to look around, and found, to his surprise, that it was resting diagonally against a wooden table by the side of the bed that he was lying on. Feeling relieved by that, Link sat up and got out of bed, strapping the Master Sword onto his back again, and although he still ached some, he could tell that someone had been helping to nurse him back to health, because he was certainly just healthy enough to get back to work.

Quickly, Link opened the door out of the room he'd been lying in, intent on determining how well Captain Link and the others had fared, and suddenly found that particular phase of his quest over. There was the Hero of Winds, sitting on a chair in the middle of the next room, talking with Tetra, Lenzo, Geelin, and the other council members, including the six sages who Link had managed to rescue.

Of course, Link was relieved to see that the Hero of Winds had been able to get back to Isle Prime in one piece, and the Admiral's presence indicated that the other prisoners from Ganon's dungeons had probably been rescued as well, but Link was still stunned by how much that Tetra looked like the pirate captain he'd fought in his own time period. Deep down inside, he was a bit concerned by that, but at the moment, he had more important things to worry about.

"Awake already, Link?" the captain asked, and for a moment, the Hero of Time felt like slapping him, before he saw that not a single person there appeared to be surprised or upset. It seemed that the entire council, and probably a number of other people were already aware of his true identity, and didn't have any problem at all with that.

"Who knows?" Link asked quickly, getting right down to the point, and although the question seemed to baffle most of the councilmembers, the captain clearly understood it instantly.

With a smile, he replied, "Everyone on the island knows your true identity now. I've even admitted to my mistake in bringing you here."

For a few moments, though, that news just confused Link.

"Why?" he asked.

"Actually, it was my judgment." the Hero of Winds responded, still smiling confidently, "In your home in Hyrule, you wouldn't keep the truth from your people because you trusted them. We were keeping the truth from the people of Isle Prime because we didn't trust them. As soon as I realized they could be trusted, I knew I had to tell them the truth."

"So the lie was in vain." Link muttered for a moment.

"Not at all," Lenzo replied, however, "What you did was for the best; we all realize that. When you first arrived here, we and our people were petty, distrustful and foolish. We could barely see far enough beyond ourselves, to focus on what really mattered, but, and you weren't here enough to notice this, as we learned to live through self-sacrifice instead of domination, our whole attitude began to change. We started to learn how pleasant it was to interact with one another without having to prove our greatness or wealth, and a few days ago, when you first, as I understand it, began using the power of the Master Sword, we all felt in our hearts that you needed our help, and it all just sort of came together. We understood who we were born to be, and what we'd been doing wrong, and from then on, we knew we couldn't go back to our old way of life. We still have the power to restore our old system of living, but we just don't want to anymore."

Link was both amazed and overjoyed as he heard that, and after a moment, he asked eagerly, "Do you speak for all your people?"

Fortunately, though, Lenzo was still smiling when he replied, "Yesterday, we had a meeting to discuss our future, and the agreement was almost unanimous. Even those who had, at first, rejected your ideas agreed to join us in this new way of life. The only people who didn't agree were a few young boys and girls who didn't, I think, really understand what was being proposed. From now on, if we have anything to say about it, the leaders of our society will work hand in hand with our people, instead of trying to control everything ourselves. To me, that's a huge relief."

Link laughed aloud as he heard that. He'd never have believed it, but somehow, the people of the Great Sea were becoming more and more like the hylians of his age, and he almost regretted not having the opportunity to help those people rebuild their society in the near future, but he had other obligations.

"What about the sages?" Link asked, his interest growing, "Have they and their people been helpful?"

That time, though, it was Geelin who spoke.

"Immeasurably so. The sages have been using their powers to help us reshape the land and water in this area of the world. With a good deal of work, and a bit of good luck, we may have some fertile soil within a day or two, and Saria and Mido believe that they can get crops to grow there within only a couple of days after that. There won't be much food, I'm afraid; at least not at first. That'll take more work, but there will at least be enough to keep us all alive."

"In other words, Link." the captain said brightly, "You've done it. You've brought hope and life back to our people."

"No," Link replied, still grinning happily, "I never could have done it without your help, Hero of Winds."

"In fact," Link continued, "Having seen your gratitude, I don't feel anywhere near as nervous about asking another favor of you."

"Anything that you want." Geelin replied, joy and thankfulness expressed in every line of her wrinkled face.

"I'd like to take Captain Link with me to go to the Time Isle to the north." Link suggested, "We're going to try to awaken the Sage of Time. I think she could really help with accelerating the progress you're making here."

The council seemed ready to grant him anything he wanted, of course, but that was really more of a request to the captain than to the council, so it was something that the Hero of Winds had to consider for himself.

Captain Link had been back on Isle Prime for a couple of days already, and since his arrival, he'd had plenty of time to talk with his friends; the sages, the admiral and his other acquaintances. He'd found himself entranced by their stories of the adventures they'd gone on in the past, but it seemed as if they were more awed but how much he'd changed since they'd seen him last. His maturity, his cunning, and most of all, his observation and his ability to read them all like books had been such new additions, that they were all amazed by the change, but after the initial shock had worn off, it hadn't taken long for that knowledge to become almost natural to them. Since that time, they'd learned to expect that he could read their expressions.

That expectation was all over Tetra, as she looked him in the eyes upon hearing his request. In her face and posture, and especially in her eyes, was the request "Take me with you. I want to see the Time Isle, and experience teleportation, and I want to meet the sage of time." Also, at the back of her train of thoughts, the captain, it seemed, could tell that she was curious to find out what he and Link were both worrying about whenever they looked at her. Ultimately, Link knew that the captain wouldn't refuse Tetra that unspoken request.

Link, at once, saw that look passing between them, and gave his consent with a little nod, adding, "But if the admiral wants to come along, I'd prefer to bring along another fire warrior. I can teleport more than one, but it's never easy."

At that, however, the captain smiled, and replied, "I can teleport her, if you'd like. I know the way."

Once again, Link found himself astonished and delighted, to hear that the Hero of Winds had been spending his time on something so worthwhile while Link had been asleep.

"You learned to teleport?"

"Torou tought me how, so it's a little different from the fire teleportation you're familiar with, but only in execution. The speed and class of teleportation is basically the same. The only difference is that I teleport in a flash of light; not a ball of fire."

Both Links were clearly feeling much better than ever, as they left the council chambers, and Tetra, it seemed, was also feeling better. However, Link could tell that Tetra wanted something from him. It seemed as if she'd noticed the worried look that he'd been casting her way, and wanted, for some reason, to know why she worried him. However, Link knew that he couldn't just tell her straight out. It wouldn't have been proper.

* * *

That afternoon, the three travelers emerged from their respective modes of teleportation on the shores of Time Isle, where the evident stairway into the dungeon of time was just as obvious as it had been before. Link could only hope that the traps hadn't reactivated since his last visit. He remembered them, after all, as being especially confusing.

Fortunately, though, as the group walked single file down the hallways, and through the many rough, stone rooms, it seemed that the magic which supported the traps in that dungeon had vanished since Link had been there last, so they were soon standing before the frozen figure of the sage of time, still in the exact same position as before; staring directly at the doorway in, still dressed in her fancy gown, and still looking positively fearsome.

Tetra walked up to the frozen sage, and passed her hand through the sage's face, drawing back almost at once in surprise. Explorer though she was, it didn't seem as if Tetra had ever seen a spell like that before. It did look pretty terrifying in some ways, and yet, the sage herself was so beautiful, that standing before her was almost like staring at a poisoned apple. The sight was amazing, welcoming, and yet, horrible all at once.

Swiftly, Link drew the Master Sword, and began to pass it over the top of the time sage's head, past her on either side, in back, in front, and even slid it across the stone surrounding her feet. He'd been hoping that the enchantment keeping her frozen existed around her somehow, but since that obviously wasn't the case, there was only one thing left to do.

Quickly but carefully, Link slid the blade of the Master Sword along the edges of the time sage's frozen hair at nearly the end of the strands, then yanked it back out, and suddenly, he felt a sort of strange illness surround him, as the Master Sword began to disperse the spell through the room. As the blade cut the tips off the frozen woman's hair, she seemed to blink very slowly, and an inch at a time, she moved her hands, until she'd placed them both together, which seemed to take nearly five minutes, then suddenly, she blinked again, and looked around, still clearly confused.

"Whoa!" the sage exclaimed, seeming to almost stumble in shock, "I guess I made a mistake. Who are you people?"

Link had hoped that the Master Sword would be able to disrupt the magic spell that was keeping the sage of time frozen, but he was still somewhat surprised, and of course, pleased, that it had actually worked. Smiling, he introduced himself, the Hero of Winds and the admiral, and asked the time sage for her name only a moment later.

"Oh!" the girl exclaimed, obviously realizing only then that she hadn't introduced herself properly, "My name is Cena. I'm the sage of time. I guess I have you to thank for getting me out of that. You see, when I decided to go into hiding, I figured that people would get over blaming us for what happened to Hyrule eventually, so I tried to use my powers to shift into another time continuum, and travel into the future."

"I'm afraid you were traveling into the future a bit too fast." Link replied, speaking sympathetically to the young woman, "The truth is, everyone clean forgot you existed."

Cena looked a little disappointed, but she brightened up a bit when Link told her that her help was still needed, and asked her for a list of her abilities as a sage. At once, she began to describe over a dozen time tricks and alterations, and a couple of other things too. Link stopped her at one point, however, with a question.

"You mean to say that you can tell anything about a person's past by examining them?"

"Huh? No, but I can learn a lot about their past and heritage. It's not easy, but I think I'm getting pretty good at it. Would you like me to tell you about your past?"

Link was pleased by the offer, but politely declined. The captain, remembering what had happened to him the last time someone had given him a revelation about his past, responded in pretty much the same way. Tetra, however, looked intrigued by the offer. Unlike the others, she might have had some part of a royal bloodline in her. When she'd been taken to the underwater Hyrule by the King of Red Lions eight years before, she'd been told that she was a Princess named Zelda. That, of course, had been absolutely ridiculous, since she was most certainly named Tetra, but she still wasn't sure whether she was of royal descent or not. The King of Red Lions had lied to everyone else, after all, and it wasn't a huge stretch to suggest that he'd lied to her too. The question of her ancestry, it seemed, had been rolling over in her mind for a while, so she made a request to the sage of time in just a moment.

"Can you tell me about my ancestors? I'd like to know if I've ever had a royal ancestor."

"Hmmm..." the sage of time muttered, seeming intrigued by the proposition, so she motioned for Tetra to have a seat nearby on the floor, then seated herself just across from her wordlessly. Sitting on the stone floor wasn't exactly comfortable, of course, but if that woman could really do what she said she could, it just might be worth it.

"Well, let's see what I can find out." the Sage of Time muttered, putting both hands onto Tetra's; an act that made her feel just a little uneasy for some reason. They sat like that for a few minutes, until the sage exclaimed, "My word!" and released Tetra's hands almost at once.

"What?" Tetra asked, looking a little worried, "What's wrong?"

"Well," Cena replied, "do you want me to describe this in present company?"

* * *

When the time sage had asked Tetra, more or less, if she wanted her past kept confidential, she did, for a moment, did consider asking the two Links to leave, but then, she remembered how her people had begun to resolve their problems, and how their first acts had been to learn the truth, and learn to forgive quickly, without condemning people. The true identity of the Hero of Time, and the involvement of the Hero of Winds in bringing him to their time period were public knowledge, and had been accepted and forgiven, respectively, by her people. If one of her ancestors had been a horrible criminal, then that was something she could face, and even if everyone knew about it, she had a feeling they wouldn't come down on her for it.

"Yes." she replied to Cena's question quickly, "No secrets anymore."

Cena nodded to indicate that she understood, and began to describe what she'd seen in only a moment.

"When I touched your hands, I saw the flow of time surrounding you, traveling back through previous generations. Because of that, the information I received about you; your past and your ancestry, came to me in reverse order, as I looked back through the time that separated you from your ancestors. First, of course, there was you. How much do you remember about your childhood?"

Tetra seemed surprised by the question, but she replied after just a moment, "Not all that much, really. When I was eight, I found myself a pirate captain, and I'm sure I held that position before then, but I'm not sure for how long, or what happened to my mother, except that she gave me a fragment of a Triforce when I was younger."

"But, do you remember her giving it to you, or do you only remember having it?"

"I..."

"Exactly. In fact, do you even remember anything about your mother?"

"I... Not really." Tetra was sure to voice that response faster, since it was plain that if she didn't, then Cena would simply infer her response from her attitude towards the question.

"Well, here's the story of your life. You were born to a ruthless pirate; a woman named Raj. Raj was your mother, and I'm afraid that for anyone but me, the identity of your father would be difficult to determine. You see, he was a prisoner, who your mother had abducted, and later sold for ransom. There was no love in your conception, I'm afraid."

Tetra swallowed as soon as she heard that. She'd thought that maybe in the distant past, there might have been a ruthless criminal in her family, but her mother? That was painful, mostly because it wasn't at all hard to believe.

"A few years after you were born, your mother put you to work as the cabin girl on her ship, but was, at first, very protective of your existence and your honor. She'd become the captain of her own pirate vessel by being the greatest fighter among its crew, so the other pirates were afraid to upset her, and treated her, and you, with borderline respect. One day, though, when you were five, your mother realized that your mundane tasks and your relative safety were turning you into a servant of others, and she wanted you to be a powerful leader; maybe even succeed her as captain. Of course, to rule the band of cutthroats she commanded, you'd have to learn to be as strong and as smart as her. The problem was, you had no natural inclinations towards that way of life, so after spending some time thinking it over, Raj relinquished some of her protection of you. Because she did that, the other pirates began to treat you with distain, tormenting you for sport whenever they got bored, and when you approached your mother with those problems, her only response was "What are you going to do about it?"

"That was enough motivation to convince you to learn to master the forces that effected you in your life, so by the age of five and a half, you'd begun to learn the ways of Raj; the ways she wouldn't teach to anyone else; how to fight, how to strike at the vulnerable points, and use one's unique size and strength limits to their advantage in battle. Gradually, you learned her style of fighting, and over that time, you had, for a young girl, become very strong, and could already overcome a few of the men on board without much difficulty."

"As you grew older, your strength also grew, and you began to augment your mother's style with a series of leaping techniques, to make it even more effective. By the time you were seven and a half, you were just as unbeatable among the crew of that ship as your mother was, and almost as clever in mastering practical knowledge. You could read and write just as well as anyone, and you understood all the important aspects of mathematics, physics, and even had some understanding of strategy."

"A month later, though, Raj took a longboat with a few of her most trustworthy men, which is to say, they were more afraid of her than the others, to raid one of the islands of the Great Sea. She and her men were back in the longboat within a couple of hours, with an impressive amount of stolen goods, but when their longboat was only a few yards from the ship, an enormous explosion was heard all across the area, and you saw a terrible sight. Your mother's longboat had been blown; men, goods and all, to the bottom of the sea by a cannonball, from one of the cannons of your own ship. As you turned to confront the man responsible for that, he looked at you fiercely; with bold, powerful and defiant eyes. You killed that man, and threw his body overboard to join your mother at the bottom of the sea."

When she heard that, Tetra was absolutely flabbergasted. How could she herself be a murderer, she wondered? It was horrifying, and yet, Cena was continuing to speak, clearly believing what she was telling the admiral.

"The thing is, something about the ordeal changed something in you, and in the other pirates on your mother's vessel too. There was a general consensus that you were their new leader, but it was more than that. What that man had done, and what you'd done had been seen by every pirate on board, and it had made them realize what they'd become. Even since your mother had taken command, she'd been so superior of everyone else on board, that no pirate had succeeded in murdering another while under her rule, so they'd all but forgotten what that looked like, and what it felt like to witness it. They knew, from that moment on, that they couldn't go on with being at each other's throats. The end to which that behavior lead was too horrifying."

"Of course the effect of that terrible occurrence on the pirates wasn't nearly so profound as its effect on you. You'd watched your mother die right before your eyes, and moments later, had experienced the most terrible feeling in the world; the feeling of looking down at a dead body and knowing that it was you who was responsible for that death. Your mind searched desperately for any way to escape that feeling over the next three days, and its solution was to force your conscious brain to simply forget all about your mother, and what you'd done. No one else forgot, of course, but they never mentioned it in your presence either."

"Of course, something else had happened to you as well. You still remembered how to fight, and were still the leader of the pirates, and willing to reinforce that at a moment's notice in battle, but your mental state seemed to have changed too. You no longer remembered being tormented as a child by those around you, so you didn't feel bitter about your life. From that moment on, you were a normal, little girl, who enjoyed her life and loved her crew, and although you were called upon more than once to prove your prowess in battle, you never let it get you down too much."

"You already know the rest; how you lived as a pirate for several years, until the bird-monster known as the Helmaroc King plucked you from the deck of your ship under the orders of Ganondorf. You still remember how that led you to become embroiled in the quest of the Hero of Winds, and to become concerned with the defeat of Ganondorf, and the fate of the land of Hyrule. After your time in Hyrule, you returned to the Great Sea again, and since then, you've become an admiral in the fleet that was formed to find dry land."

Tetra nodded. That was the part she remembered, but Cena continued.

"Raj was a vicious pirate, and if not for her anarchist nature, she might have been seen as a terrifying conqueror. Her name was one of the most feared in all the Great Sea at one time."

Tetra looked depressed as she heard that. Already, she was drawing unhappy comparisons between her mother and Ganondorf, based on that information.

"Your grandmother, however, was a woman of reasonably-honest business, as were her mother and grandmother." Cena continued, however, "They were powerful saleswomen, who, over the course of those three generations, built a fortune that helped to shape the society of the Great Sea as it was a few years ago, but they didn't really mean to help others. In fact, most of what they did seems to have been for their own selfish ambitions. Each was ignored by others as a girl, and felt the need to prove themselves, and obtain respect as adults. Before that, your ancestors lived as unsuccessful salesmen and women, or as even less successful beggars for seven generations. Before that, however, things get interesting."

"It seems that one of your distant ancestors; a man named Gene, was born of the union of two somewhat remarkable individuals." Cena continued a bit flatly, "One was a pureblooded hylian, who was descended from the royal family. He was born to the last Princess of Hyrule, and a hylian knight after the flood."

For once, Tetra smiled, because that news meant that she was royalty after all. There had been many unpleasant revelations along the way, but it was good to know the truth, in the end. However, Cena wasn't finished.

"Gene's mother was a girl, born of a hylian castle guard, and a criminal who he'd rescued from the dungeons when the flood waters came. That criminal's name was also Tetra, and she was once the leader of a group of pirates, who'd attacked Hyrule before the flood."

Tetra's ears perked up when she heard that, wondering if her mother had known the truth about it. Had she been named after a criminal on purpose, Tetra wondered, or was it just a coincidence, or was it fate, somehow repeating itself? Those questions floated aimlessly through her head as Cena finished her story.

"Tetra had been surrounded by both hylian strictness and hylian kindness for the whole time she'd been in that dungeon, and when the guard chose to release her from her confinement, rather than let her die, it opened her eyes to the nature of right and wrong, and more, to the importance of it. Before that, she'd considered all actions in terms of what feelings motivated them; anger, sadness, compassion and the like, but she soon started to see things in terms of their absolute morals, just as a hylian would, so when Gene's mother was conceived, it was a union of actual love; something that she'd once tossed aside in favor of simple strength, and that's everything that you wanted to know about your past and more."

For a few moments, Tetra said nothing. Part of her considered, for a moment, that Cena might have made up the whole story of her lineage right on the spot, just to satisfy Tetra's curiosity, but she dismissed the thought very quickly, because it all made perfect sense. Those, then, were her true origins; part princess, part pirate, melded into an incongruous amalgam of the two by a twist of fate. It was an origin which, in Hyrule, could never have come to pass. In another world, she would be a very different person, or she might not even have existed at all. However, she didn't feel bitter over that realization. In fact, she felt somewhat grateful to know the truth.

"Thank you." Tetra said, drawing a nod from Cena, who obviously felt just a little unmerited guilt, over having had to be the bearer of some rather bad news. Still, Tetra had become a big enough person in recent years to deal with that news better than she could have as a child. It was the best time for her to learn about those forbidden origins.

* * *

Back up on the surface of the island, the group prepared for the long teleport back to Isle Prime. The Hero of Winds felt as though a hundred things about his past had been suddenly settled; as though his entire life had led up to that point, for some reason. It was a feeling he hadn't even had eight years ago, when he'd confronted Ganondorf in his undersea tower in Hyrule. He felt like at any moment, he might discover true fulfillment.

* * *

It was quickly decided that Link would teleport back with Cena, and the Hero of Winds with Tetra, but just before they slipped into their respective methods of teleportation; just before they needed to focus all their concentration on the task at hand, Link felt a terrible regret go through his mind, and it wasn't just the thought that he was doing the people of the Great Sea a disservice, but he also had to regret that the work he'd done for them, and helped them to do for themselves was about to be forcibly undone...


	29. Pt3 Ch12 The Clash

Chapter 12: The Clash

* * *

The captain woke up the next morning and stretched his muscles in preparation for whatever he'd need to do that day. For weeks, the Hero of Time had been a part of his life, and a driving force in much of his own development as a hero. Still, he couldn't let the Hero of Time do everything. He had his own job to do in helping his people to survive.

Stepping out of bed and putting on his boots, the Hero of Winds left his room, and opened the door to the room that the Hero of Time usually slept in. Link wasn't in his room, but that was really no surprise. After all, Link always seemed to get up before everyone else. Still, the captain had a lousy feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't seem to shake or find a reason for. However, he was feeling too good about having a purpose to his life, to let himself be bothered by it too much. He decided that the feeling might just go away in a couple days when he'd had the chance to, according to Saria's predictions, eat something other than just carrots.

For the moment, though, he and the rest of his people had a good deal of work to do. Since his return from Ganondorf's fortress, the captain's strategic excellence had been noticed, so he'd been one of those selected to help direct the efforts of the others, but with the unnatural strength that his golden bracelets gave him, his physical capabilities could hardly be ignored either, so he had a great deal of work to do with his hands as well, moving boulders, and helping to dig in the earth. He was considered to be one of the most valuable workers on that island, even more than the sages themselves by some, though the powers of the sages were truly immense.

That morning, however, the Hero of Winds spent a mere five minutes working before his worry began to overwhelm him. He hadn't seen Link at all, and Link was usually in the thick of it, handing out directions and fresh ideas. Something, the captain realized, was definitely wrong. Worse yet, he hadn't seen Saria, Obo, Torou, or any of the other sages all morning either, except for Medli and Makar, so he decided to postpone the rest of the morning work, until he knew what was going on. Dropping the boulder he'd been carrying into the sea, the captain headed off for the council chambers to speak with Lenzo again.

Lenzo was giving orders when the Hero of Winds found him; orchestrating the disassembling of some old buildings to make fences for the new gardens, when the captain walked up to him and interrupted his work.

"Good morning, Councilman Lenzo." the captain said, trying to be polite, so that the urgency he felt wasn't overly obvious, "Have you seen the Hero of Time this morning?"

"Link," Lenzo greeted him, "Yes, I met with him as soon as I got up. He said he had another mission he wanted to go on, but he didn't give me the specifics. He just told me that he'd need the help of the seven sages to complete it, so they went with him."

As Lenzo said that, however, the captain's face turned absolutely white. Something about the Hero of Time had seemed blurry and indistinct to the captain ever since he'd first arrived in that time period, but at once, it all became clear to him. His questions to the time guard, and the reasoning behind them, and most importantly, what he intended to do next had all become as plain as day to the Hero of Winds in that one moment of realization.

"Lenzo, I'm sorry," the captain exclaimed, a look of panic spreading across his face all at once, "but you might have to do without my help for a little while. I have an important mission I have to complete too."

Then, without waiting for a reply, the captain cast the spell of teleportation, and was zipping through the sky away from Isle Prime, like a flash of lightning, but as he left the island behind, he could swear, for a moment, that he saw Tomar again, standing on one of the precipices of Isle Prime, overlooking the ocean, with a look of horrible sadness on his face.

* * *

Link looked at the time guard with hope in his heart, as he watched the energy commanded by Zura fitting together the cracks in its exterior. It had to be welded together, of course, which meant that the talents of both Obo and Link of the gorons were needed. As it turned out, however, the other four were needed as well. The core of the Time Guard was a melding of the different forces of the universe; darkness and light at constant odds with each other, in a partially-organic substance, with time discontinuities running through it. The combined powers of the other four were needed for the task of fixing the core, as it turned out, with some advice and instructions from the time guard itself. The job was accomplished in less than two hours, and as the brilliant, shining light shone endlessly into the heavens, the time guard was back in operation, and Link was ready to ask it another question.

"Can you send me back to my own time now?"

"No." the time guard replied, however.

"Why not?" Link asked patiently, not panicking in the least.

"Because we're about to be interrupted." the time guard answered.

"By the champion of Isle Prime," Link correctly guessed, "but not to defend his people. He'll interrupt us for personal reasons."

The time guard was silent when Link said that. It hadn't been a question, and Link hadn't expected or wanted an answer. He knew that he was right. The captain was on the way, and he wanted to stop Link from what he was doing for his own reasons. Link knew that much. What he didn't know was whether he could get the captain to listen to reason, before the poor kid got himself killed.

* * *

Their task, for the moment, complete, the sages had returned to Isle Prime to await further news, per Link's instructions, but they all clearly had a feeling that something serious was up; something they weren't being told about.

Link was, of course, a little worried about the impending confrontation. Furthermore, he knew that the captain would be arriving within moments, given that he would have interrupted Link's trip back through time; a trip that shouldn't have taken more than a couple of minutes. He was definitely in for a rough time, and it would be on top of him almost at once.

In fact, just a few moments later, Link saw a little glint on the horizon, then another, and another, and quickly stepped to one side, away from the time guard as a flash of light deposited the captain on the time guard's isle, and at once, Link braced himself as the captain's elbow came flying towards him, and the Hero of Time felt the wind knocked out of him by the sheer force of the blow. He hadn't expected the captain to attack so fast, or so immediately, and because he'd made such effective use of the element of surprise, he'd gained the upper hand.

Soon, Link saw a way of regaining his footing, however, and casting Nayru's Love around his body to protect himself, he took the next blow head-on, and was soon sailing through the air above the ocean, utterly unhurt by the impact. Moments later, Link had teleported back to the island in a ball of flames, appearing right behind the captain, and swung the Master Sword across his new enemy's left arm.

The blade of the Master Sword passed through the captain's arm like a phantom, doing no damage at all. For a moment, that caused both of them to pause in their battle. They looked one another right in the eyes, exchanging glances that were full of meaning. The Master Sword was incapable of harming those who were good and just, and obviously, the captain still cared deeply about his people, even if he wasn't, at the moment, fighting on their behalf. Just to be safe, though, Link ran the Master Sword across his own fingers, and was relieved to see that he came away without a scratch, which meant that neither of them was truly in the wrong. Then, looking up into the captain's eyes again, he said, "We shouldn't be fighting. Neither of us is evil."

"Then why are you doing this?" the captain asked, his face scarlet, "To me? To my people? I thought you wanted to help me save my people."

"I do." Link replied, placing the Master Sword back in its sheath, "Now, more than ever, since I've seen that deep within themselves, they still have the hearts of true hylians. But, there's more than one way to be endangered. Your people have passed their first test, but I'm afraid that it would be only the first of many, and I wouldn't always be there to help them."

"I understand the part about their hearts," the captain replied, "and I understand why you wanted my people to live this way. It's going to be difficult for them, but my people will be happier living in union with one another than they would have been in their old society. That much I can understand. What I don't understand is what you mean by saying they're still in danger. What danger are you talking about? We've faced all kinds of danger together already. Why can't we face this danger the same way?"

Link felt very sad, as the captain asked that, but it wasn't the sadness of being disappointed in him, as in their earlier missions. He was sad, because a part of him wished that he could face that danger with the captain.

"The danger I'm talking about is one that no hero can confront," Link said sadly, "except by inspiring his people to do so. That danger will only be revealed in a generation, if then. It's a danger that resurfaces with every generation, and a danger that the first generation of people in the Great Sea fell victim to. The danger is in failing be what Hyrule was."

"What?" The captain asked, looking stunned, "What are you talking about? Are you saying my people and their efforts aren't good enough because our land isn't as beautiful as Hyrule?"

That time, Link truly smiled, however, though more in amusement than agreement.

"I'd be lying to say that the beauty of Hyrule meant nothing to me. In fact, the thought of never running across a field, or climbing an enormous mountain, or swimming in a lake with fish around me, or trekking across a blazing desert... To never do those things again would be a terrible price to pay; a terrible price to ask anyone to pay who's experienced them, but that's not what Hyrule had that your people lack."

"Then what is it? What is it my people still need?"

"Captain Link of the Great Sea, your people need the final ingredient to any stable civilization. They need respect for their heritage."

At once, the captain's face fell, as he understood the enormity of what Link was telling him. That, then, was the final ingredient to understanding hylians, and what they needed; what they thrived on, and the captain was already intelligent enough to understand its significance, and to put all the pieces together. His face showed every painful realization as it passed across his mind.

"So, you see..." Link contined, "Your people still lack that. It's the last thing that makes hylians who they are, and they'll need to work for their entire lives, without any hope of ever having it, in order to even give their children and grandchildren the chance to obtain it."

"You don't think my people are up to the challenge." the captain concluded, ruefully.

"I never said that." Link replied as quickly as he could, "But your people have no example to follow in obtaining it. It's an ingredient that becomes more stable with every passing generation. If your society had worked for many generations, or many hundreds of years, you'd be much more likely to be able to take pride in your heritage; to think to yourself, 'these people were good. They worked hard for the wellbeing of future generations, and I'm proud to have descended from them. Now I have the task of carrying on this grand legacy. I can't afford to fail.' Hylian society worked for over three thousand years before Ganondorf and the King of Red Lions put it to an end. That kind of stability can't just be thrown back together in a year or two."

"Yeah." the captain replied, both eyes closed by that point, "I know."

Link was still feeling pretty sad as he continued, "I suppose it's the nature of every good man who's grown up in a society like Hyrule to try to accomplish as much for their people as they can within their lifetime. At least I know it's my nature, but there's really nothing more that I can do for your people in this time. I can't even live as one of them. I can only do one thing; I can try to travel back through time, to give my people a future, and give your people a brighter past. Do you understand?"

For a few seconds, the captain said nothing, then, opening both eyes, he looked directly at Link again, with a grim expression on his face.

"I understand all of that." the captain said at last, "My people and my home will be sacrificed, and in their place, you'll be creating a more promising land, with people similar to mine, in a land better than mine, which will give them greater satisfaction from their lives, and a better hope for their future. Yes; that would correct the future, and be better for the people of my time period. They'll have had the chance to live as hylians, just like you said, but there's one person you're forgetting..."

Swiftly, Link's muscles tensed up, as the captain continued, "...and that's me! If you disappear right now, instead of going back in time, I'll be the hero. I'll help guide the destiny of my people! I'll do wonderful things for them. But, if you travel back in time, who or what will I be? Will I even exist, and even if I do, will I remember you? I doubt it. Without you, I never could have become a hero, and if you undo the past, I'll go back to being the loser I was. I'm not going to let that happen. There's no way I'd be better off in the other timeline that you're trying to create."

Then, with every ounce of his strength and speed, the captain charged Link, but that time, he lacked the element of surprise. The captain was enraged, but Link was calm. Moving with extraordinary speed, Link dove to one side, and then struck out with his hand, and soon, the captain was on the ground.

Seething with rage, the captain drove his hands towards the ground, vaulting himself to his feet, and charged at Link again with his sword drawn. That time, however, Link was a blur, ducking back and forth out of the way of the sword strikes, and soon, the captain was back on the ground again. That time, though, he didn't get up.

"I can never forgive you for this!" the captain exclaimed, as he lay on the ground, "If only I had those powers you took from me in Ganon's fortress..."

"You'd be willing to use the power of darkness to fight against me?" Link asked, surprised, "I doubt that's true, but if it is, then I can't possibly turn you into a loser. You're doing that to yourself."

The captain's rage only grew as Link said that, but it began to subside at what he said next.

"Captain," Link continued, "I trusted you. I gave you the benefit of the doubt. I knew you hadn't been raised in Hyrule, but nevertheless, I gave you the opportunity to prove yourself, and more recently, I gave you some of the greatest compliments that I've ever given to anyone, but you don't deserve them; not as long as you're willing to put your own personal concerns above those of all your people."

At that point, however, it seemed that the captain's anger was truly starting to fade, because he was relaxing at Link's feet. Soon, as the captain calmed down, Link backed off a little, giving him the chance to get to his feet again, and look the Hero of Time in the eye. Deep down inside his soul, something seemed to stir in that moment. The captain must have known that Link was right, but...

"But what else can I do?" the captain asked miserably, "I don't want to betray my people, but I can't betray myself either. What am I supposed to do next?"

Link couldn't reply, however. He had no answer, but someone else did reply; a voice that boomed across land and sea alike; the voice of the time guard.

"There is one thing that you can do. You can become a singularity in fate."

At once, a look of hope spread across the captain's face, and he looked to the time guard, shining brightly with power and ageless knowledge.

"I don't understand!" the captain exclaimed loudly, "What's a singularity in fate?"

"I can hold the person that you've become in the power of fate, so that whatever happens, you are preserved. Some things about your past life will be different, of course; your childhood, your family, and perhaps even your friends, but the person who you have become will continue to exist. You'll be preserved in the new timeline."

It sounded like the best deal that the captain was likely to get, but he was still clearly pretty nervous, so after a moment, he asked, "How many people can be preserved?"

"Only one." the time guard replied, however, "That's why it's called a singularity."

The captain looked sad, but he must have known what he had to do. That was the solution he'd been looking for, and there was only one problem that it didn't solve; one problem that he'd had since long before he'd suspected the true nature of Link's plan. However, that was a problem that he knew he had to address right then and there.

"Link," the captain remarked, clearly feeling sad as he spoke, "There's a part of me that resents you. I think I've always resented you since the first time I met you. For some reason, it never seemed right to me that you should show up and be the hero of my story, so to speak. I think I resented that most of all. I'm grateful to you for everything you did for my people and our future, but I want you to understand my feelings. I think I looked at you as an obstacle, or even a rival as well as a mentor, and I wish there were some way to solve that as well."

For a moment, Link was silent. He'd known that about the captain for quite a while, but he'd been waiting for the Hero of Winds to address the issue in his own good time. However, since that time had come, Link found himself only partly prepared to really deal with the problem.

At last, however, Link said, "You wanted to be the hero of your people; the one who saves others and helps to inspire them in the ways of doing right. If you remember what I've taught you about the difference between right and wrong, you may still be able to do that."

"It's too late now." the captain replied sadly, however, "Once you rewrite history..."

"Once I rewrite history," Link interrupted him quickly, "A new timeline will be created. No one will remember me in this time period, but they'll remember you, and maybe you'll have the chance to be a real hero, just like you've always wanted to be. I can't say for certain, but it's the best hope I can offer you."

The captain didn't look totally satisfied by those words, of course, but it wasn't the first time. After all, he'd met the Hero of Time, he'd adventured with him, and the whole thing had been a mass of pain and suffering. He'd also improved over time, but still, he clearly wished that the circumstances and events of their meeting could have been different, and that was the one problem that nobody could solve.

Of course, that feeling was just a passing fancy, and the Hero of Winds obviously knew it. It didn't change what had to be done. Soon, he half-smiled, as he held out his hand for Link to shake, and looked immensely pleased when the Hero of Time did so without the slightest hesitation.

"Good luck." the captain said as he shook hands with the greatest hero he'd ever met.

"Good luck to you too." Link replied, looking at the captain in genuine gratitude, "You might not remember me in the new timeline, but for what it's worth, I hope your dreams of heroism come true."

Then, their discussions were finished forever. Link and the captain never said another word to one another, although they did still have instructions to give to the time guard...

* * *

Something happened as the Hero of Time entered the rift, which worried Zelda a lot. He vanished, while clutching his weapon, but the weapon didn't vanish along with him. The Master Sword fell to the floor with a clunk, the very moment that Link disappeared.

At once, Zelda rushed over to the spot where Link had vanished, and picked up the Master Sword from the floor. For a few seconds, she wondered if she'd ever see Link again. Without the Master Sword, she wondered, would he be able to find some way back?

However, just then, as she pondered many horrible doubts, a hand reached out from nearby, and took hold of hers. It was so gentle that, even though she hadn't seen who that hand belonged to, she wasn't alarmed or defensive. Somehow, as she looked up into the eyes of the figure that had faded into existence before her just moments after he'd left, she knew the Hero of Time had returned.

He looked much different than he had moments before. His clothes were different, for one thing. They were torn in many places, but he also had several scars in various places on his body. The most noticeable one was on his left hand, where it looked as though his entire palm had been slit wide open by a blade.

However, what really mattered was that as Zelda looked into his eyes, she saw the steadfast determination that she recognized and relied on so completely and so often. It was Link's defining characteristic, and that was, for her, solid enough evidence that it was really him.

"Link!" she exclaimed, "For a moment... I mean... I... You're a mess. I'll get you a healing potion."

* * *

Link was so pleased to see Princess Zelda alive and well, that for a short time, he couldn't say a thing, but soon, his will and his memory dispelled that moment, and he rushed over to grab his bag, containing his weapons and equipment.

"Zelda," Link said, as he strapped the mirror shield to his back, and put the Master Sword in its sheath, "I learned something horrible. Ganondorf is after the Triforce again."

"Ganondorf?" Zelda asked in alarm; a worried look crossed her face as she continued, "Do you know where he is, or when he'll return to Hyrule?"

"I don't have an exact date," Link replied, however, "but..."

Then suddenly, he and Zelda were staring at one another. They'd both noticed the same thing; there was a Triforce glowing on each of their hands.

"He's here already." Link realized aloud in utter dread.

Both Link and Zelda knew what it meant that they each had a Triforce. The same thing had happened almost ten years before, the first time that Ganondorf had grasped the Triforce. Ganondorf's heart wasn't in balance. He didn't understand the importance of wisdom or courage, so those Triforces had escaped him when he'd touched the full Triforce, embedding themselves into the hands of the people most worthy to represent the forces of courage and wisdom. If the same thing had happened again, it might even have been for the same reason, and if that was the case, it meant that Ganondorf was once again the master of the Triforce of Power.

"We have to get to the Temple of Time." Link said hurriedly, "Come with me."

Then, in a moment, Link grabbed Zelda's arm, and in one burst of flame, they were inside the Temple of Time, with Ganondorf standing right in front of them.

Zelda looked incredibly startled by that, which made perfect sense. After all, she'd had no idea that Link could teleport, and it seemed to make her wonder what other abilities he had, that he hadn't told her about, but that clearly wasn't what had been worrying her the most. Zelda, Link realized, must have been especially worried about how to contact the sages. After all, the last time they'd fought Ganondorf, they'd had the power of the seven sages at their backs, and they didn't have any means of contacting the sage of light at all anymore, or even of getting the attention of the others in time to do anything. It was a very bad situation, and Zelda must have been terrified that they wouldn't have the means to survive it. Even Link wasn't completely confident about that.

Quickly, Link snatched the potion from Zelda's hands, and drank it in one gulp. The scars that covered his body vanished the instant he did so, and he stared into Ganondorf's eyes with such determination, that if Zelda hadn't known better, she'd almost have thought that he wasn't aware of the supernatural powers that Ganondorf had obtained.

"You're too late, Hero of Time." Ganondorf said disdainfully to his long-time foe, "I've claimed the Triforce of Power again, and now, I know how to use it."

The moment that Ganondorf said that, the stone sheath on Link's back crumbled to dust, and Link took a step backwards, as though doing so would take him out of range of Ganondorf's powers.

"This time, I have the power." Ganondorf continued eagerly, "In some ways, I was almost hoping you'd show up, just so that I could prove to you that I can claim final victory, even over your dead body."

For some reason, Link had been expecting a cleverer and more civilized comment than that, but the person standing before him was, after all, the Ganondorf of his time. That Ganondorf hadn't been trapped underwater for hundreds of years, and had time to think over his outlook on life, or his methods of doing battle or addressing people; friend or foe. In some ways, Link pitied him.

Still, with the Triforce of Power in his possession, Ganondorf was a person of deadly force, from whom only Link and Zelda, as the bearers of the other two Triforces, were protected, and he had to be stopped somehow.

Link wasn't sure how to stop Ganondorf, though, or even if he could anymore, but he knew that if he couldn't, there was no one else in Hyrule who could. His trip to the future had taught him that, but it had taught him other things as well; things which, he thought, might give him an edge.

"You never had any intention of complying with my wishes, did you Ganondorf?" Link asked aloud, surprising his enemy for a moment. After all, the last time he'd fought with the king of thieves, the Hero of Time had begun the battle without a single word. Ganondorf stopped for a moment, and actually seemed to be thinking it over for several seconds before he replied.

"No." he admitted at last, "Not for a moment."

"Why?" Link asked him, "I mean, couldn't some other land give you the kind of life you wanted?"

Ganondorf laughed out loud when he heard those words, however, and then looked Link right in the eyes, as he said, "The kind of life I want? What do you know about that? Foolish hylian! You have no idea of the things that fill my dreams; the visions of such tremendous power and control that appear whenever I close my eyes, terrifying enough to set even your legendary courage ablaze. I never considered taking another land, because no other land could offer me this!"

As Ganondorf said that, he raised one fist before Link, and the Hero of Time could see the shape of the Triforce of Power shining out from Ganondorf's fist, through the metal of his gauntlet. By that point, Link could see the distant journey that Ganondorf had taken. In his first lifetime, he'd been a man completely without trust in others; a man who believed that the only way to make sure things were right was to seize control.

"Should I confront him with that, though?" Link thought to himself silently. After all, his experiences in dealing with Ganondorf up to that point indicated that he responded most often with violent outbursts when confronted by a truth that he wasn't willing or able to accept, so instead, Link took a different tack, for the moment.

"You're right." Link hissed out, nearly biting his tongue as the lie spilled from his mouth, "I can see why you wanted the Triforce so much, but as a mage, you must realize that every new power brings a level of responsibility with it. I've felt what it's like to be vaulted to a new level of power, and you must have felt that to an even greater degree."

That comment seemed to strike rather close to home, because, for a moment, the expression of gleeful malice vanished from Ganondorf's face, and he took on a much more impassive expression when he spoke again.

"It's true that there's a period of time in which the scope of the power I wield becomes difficult to understand and cope with," Ganondorf admitted after a few seconds of silence, "but it passes, just like dizziness does, and now, I'm myself again; in every way."

Link nodded at first, but then, he said something very surprising; something that made Ganondorf's expression turn to one of pure and simple shock.

"Ganondorf, are you ready to wield the most enormous responsibility in the universe?"

"What?" asked both Ganondorf and Zelda simultaneously. Neither had expected Link to make such an offer, if offer it was. Yet, that seemed to be the direction that the conversation was headed in.

"I just mean" Link responded quickly, "That the Triforce gives its bearer power, wisdom and courage on an infinite, absolute level. That is, in a nutshell, godhood. You'd have the power and skill to do whatever you wanted to, and in your hands, you'd hold the fate of everyone. I know the burden of having power, and the responsibility that goes with it, but if you're about to take on absolute power, then you should know that your responsibility and your burden will be absolute as well. You'll literally be responsible for everything that occurs in the universe. Are you ready to accept that?"

For a few moments, Zelda and Ganondorf both stared at Link in surprise, but after about three seconds had passed, Zelda's face fell in an look of terrible disappointment, and Ganondorf's expression turned to one of skepticism.

"You're over-complicating things." Ganondorf replied at last, "When one has absolute power, one can make any choice they want, including the choice of how much and how often to interfere in the natural course of events. I have to ask you, though, are you offering to give me your Triforce?"

By that point, Link was completely convinced that he was right in all of the assumptions he'd made about the king of evil. He could see what kind of man Ganondorf was, and a plan had formed in his mind; the only plan that made sense. The Hero of Time was going to give Ganondorf everything that he said he wanted.

Too fast to be detected, much less defended against, Link delivered a blow to the back of Zelda's head, rendering her unconscious in just a moment. He hoped that she'd be able to forgive him, but he knew that there was no way she'd trust his judgment on a decision like that one.

"Now, you can take her Triforce if you want," Link said, without an ounce of fear in his voice, "and I'll give you mine. In exchange, all I ask is that you spare us, as well as the kingdom of Hyrule."

Ganondorf was looking very surprised by what Link had just done, but he didn't seem to have realized what his former foe was up to. Indeed, he looked totally unaware of what was just about to happen to him, and probably wouldn't have believed it, even if someone had told him the truth.

"Alright." the king of evil said, "You'll soon see that I still have the ability show mercy and compassion, even to my former enemies. Give me the Triforce."

In only a moment, Link reached his hand forward, and held it still, as Ganondorf did the same with his own. At once, the three Triforces resonated, leaving the bodies of their hosts, and combining into one, and although Ganondorf shot Link a warning glance, the Hero of Time had no intention of trying to claim the full Triforce for himself.

As the triangles combined again, a golden light shot forth from the center of the Temple of Time, bathing the princess, hero, and evil king in its perfect, omnipotent splendor, and there was the sacred item of Hyrule; the most powerful artifact in the world; the Triforce, which contained the very power of the ancient goddesses themselves; the power that was absolute.

"At last!" Ganondorf exclaimed to himself with an eager laugh, "Control! Complete control! Now, the world will be what I want it to be!"

With those words, Ganondorf grasped the full Triforce, and Link felt existence around him shudder as a new god was appointed...

* * *

When Ganondorf had claimed the Triforce of Power, he'd felt as though, in a way, his perceptions of the universe around him had been broadened, but that was probably just an illusion, based on the feeling that he'd become more powerful than everything else around him. His perceptions hadn't changed all that much; at least not in terms of what they were, fundamentally, so he'd expected the full Triforce to be a mere extension of that; perhaps a higher level at which he was aware of things that happened in the universe, but nothing more.

Ganondorf had also known, in an abstract sense, that the full Triforce would grant him the greatest wisdom in the universe; the wisdom of the goddess Nayru herself. Still, he'd thought of that wisdom as merely a means of outfoxing his enemies, if anyone dared to oppose him, and had considered the prize worth pursuing. However, he hadn't expected the very essence of who he was to change so drastically. As he looked, for his first second as a god, upon Link and Zelda, and simultaneously upon everything else that was happening, would ever happen, or had ever happened, he knew that he could slay those two pests without lifting a finger; break his promise to them in an instant, just for his own satisfaction, and the temptation was there, at first.

Then, however, a hundred voices seemed to go off in his head, and one rang out the clearest of all; a voice that had become a part of Ganondorf; the voice of great wisdom.

"Why would you want to kill them? What could you gain from that? Can't you have whatever you want without killing either of them? What's the point?"

"Who are you?" he thought in reply, sure that he wouldn't like the answer.

"I'm you." came the response from the voice, "The inner you, that's been altered by the Triforce of Wisdom. I'll dispense wisdom to you at all times."

That was how the first second of Ganondorf's reign ended, and the second one began. Time seemed to pass in slow motion, as his godlike mind considered an endless number of things every moment, but wasn't overwhelmed by them, and for each one, the voice within gave him a short blurb of wisdom about the things that he was considering. However, it was his present situation, which he chose to dwell on with his greatest divine attention.

"Maybe I don't need a reason to kill them." Ganondorf thought to his inner self, "Maybe I just feel like it."

However, the voice came back loud and clear, "You know everything, so you know that's a lie. You don't feel like killing them. As for doing something without a reason, I suppose you could, but why?"

Ganondorf flinched when he heard that response. It was absolutely true. He didn't feel like killing Link or Zelda. That was how he entered into the third second of his reign.

"Very well." Ganondorf remarked silently to himself, "Their bodies and wills are mine now, to do whatever I please with. There's no reason to kill them. I'll simply take Hyrule without defeating them."

"Why do you want Hyrule?"

"Pardon?"

"You're a god. You've been vaulted to a state of being that transcends mortal trivialities. Hyrule and its entire planet are nothing more than a pretty bauble to you now. Why do you care about them? Do you want to make their lives better?"

Ganondorf heard that question, and felt a lump form in his throat. The voice of wisdom had hit the nail on the head. In the past, he'd sought to conquer Hyrule to increase his power, or perhaps for his own ego, but suddenly, nothing that any hylian did could make his power any greater, and as for bolstering his ego, he was a god, and he knew it better than anyone. No one could attain a larger or more justified ego than that. It was true that it had never been his intention to bring good things to Hyrule. Somehow, the very idea of seizing control of it at that point, though, seemed trivial and pointless. After all, it wouldn't gain him anything, really. It was in those thoughts that the fourth second of his reign began.

"You can gain nothing, in practical terms." the voice replied from deep within him, and when he heard those words, he felt like a lead weight had been dropped on his head. He could gain nothing? Then what was he supposed to do with the rest of his life? To that as well, however, the voice had an answer.

"You'll relinquish the Triforce and become mortal again."

"Why would I do that?" Ganondorf yelled aloud, some part of his old stubbornness returning, as he confronted the voice of the Triforce with determination.

"Because you have no reason to want it." the voice replied, however, in a distressingly-short time, "You wanted to control your surroundings, so that you'd never have to worry about events turning against you, and you've now attained that, but it was that worry that drove you. Your fear made you do the things you did, and sculpted the kind of person you've been since you were a teenager. Without it, you're merely adrift in a cosmic sea of power, with no purpose in your life but to exist. You desired great, unfathomable power since you were young, but the Triforce is too much. Its only purpose is to vault one person to a level of being where nothing else in the universe can affect them in any way. To a generous man, who wishes to help others, or to someone with a vision or a dream, it might be useful, but you don't really want this kind of power, Ganondorf Dragmire."

That, Ganondorf realized in blank horror, was also true. Even as the fifth second of his reign began, Ganondorf knew that he didn't desire the Triforce. Thanks to wisdom without limit, he'd been shown his true self, but very few men can witness their true selves without suffering from the realization, and Ganondorf's true nature had been buried for so long, under so much garbage and so many lies, that before the dawn of the sixth second of his reign, the Triforce had fallen from his hands, and he himself had fallen to the floor; helpless and defeated by his own inner self.

In only another moment, Link stepped forward slowly, and lifted the Triforce from the floor near the uncomprehending Ganondorf. At once, he heard the voice of wisdom inside his own mind.

"What will you accomplish with this power?"

However, Link's reply was instant, "Nothing at all. I'll imprison it back in the Sacred Realm, where it belongs, and Ganondorf with it. Then, I'll summon the power of the seven sages, and seal it up completely. No one will ever be able to use this gateway again."

Link had spoken the truth, so the voice was silent, and the Hero of Time went about his work.

* * *

The sun was setting on the western horizon, casting a pink glow across Hyrule, as Link sat watching it from atop one of the kingdom's many cliff faces. He hadn't even realized how much he'd missed pink sunsets since his journey into the future. It had been nearly a week since the Triforce and the almost-comatose Ganondorf were sealed up in the Sacred Realm together, and that, at first, had seemed like a mistake to many of the members of the royal court, and many hylians in general, but most people agreed with Link's assessment that Ganondorf was no longer in any position to usurp the Triforce again anytime soon, and even if he did manage to wake up from his coma in time to keep himself from starving to death, he'd be a much different man.

At first, Link thought that it would take a great deal of work to repair his relationship with Princess Zelda. After all, the two of them had to cooperate professionally every day, and it could really disrupt things if she started holding a grudge against him. Indeed, Zelda had refused to speak to Link for the first day or so, but according to one of the hylian messengers, the moment she learned what had happened while she was unconscious, from a second-hand source, she burst out laughing, and the very next day, she'd proceeded to slug Link hard in the arm, as they passed each other in one of the many hallways of the Knight Academy.

"You dope!" Zelda had exclaimed in a good-humored tone of voice, "That was really dangerous! Don't ever do something like that again!"

So, their much-needed professional relationship was patched within the space of a day and a half, and for the most part, everything was back to normal. On his third day back, Link had told Zelda the story of his journey into the future, parts of which she naturally found difficult to believe, but she'd listened intently to every word. Link had only told the story to three other people before addressing Zelda with it. One was, of course, Saria, who found parts of it to be absolutely terrifying, and other parts to be, as she termed it, "sweet." Link also told Stalflare, who seemed to find some aspects of the tale utterly ridiculous. The last person who Link told, even before Zelda, was King Daphnes, because the king had, after all, played such a great and terrible role in the shaping of that bleak future time. The king seemed very somber as he listened to the tale, but he didn't seem to doubt its truth as much as Stalflare had, and even admitted that it gave him a lot to think about.

On the third night since his return, as he sat on the cliff side, enjoying the view, Link could see a winged figure approaching him from the west, and stood to greet his visitor as Stalflare got closer. However, when the winged gerudo was within about fifty yards of Link, he saw that there was a small person riding on his back, between his wings, with her tiny arms gripping his neck tightly. Link smiled as he saw that. He wasn't sure how Saria had convinced Stalflare to give her a ride, but he was glad to see that she was making an effort to spend time with him. If he'd known that she wanted to meet him that night, though, he'd have carried her himself.

Link felt like asking Stalflare how Saria had convinced him to make the trip, but Stalflare obviously anticipated that question, and was gone before Link could even get one word out, which Link found, in some ways, pretty humorous. Still, the thought vanished as he turned to speak to his soul mate.

"Saria, I'm glad you could join me. How'd you ever manage to get someone like Stalflare to give you a ride?"

"Well..." Saria muttered, clearly hoping that Stalflare was out of earshot by that point, though it was hard to tell just how much the greide zwooda could hear, "He sort of did this as a favor to you. He really respects you, Link, even though he tries to hide it."

"Yeah." Link replied a bit flatly, as he motioned for Saria to sit down next to him, "I know."

In another moment, the two were sitting together on that cliff side, and watching the sun set. After about five minutes of sitting in silence, Saria spoke up.

"I've been thinking about what you told me about that future time." Saria said, without trying to look Link in the eye, "About us, and about me..."

"Uh-oh." Link interrupted quickly, looking right at her, "You don't want to call off the courtship, do you?"

"No..." Saria replied slowly, still not returning Link's gaze "But I did want to talk about our relationship."

Link nodded. He still wasn't sure what Saria was getting at, but he decided to wait for her to continue, before he made any assumptions.

"The truth is," she said, "I told you something in that future time; I think the quote you used was 'from the moment I agreed to court you, I knew that that there'd come a time when you'd die, vanish, or just not be there. That idea never upset me. It was the fact that we never got to spend even a year together as a couple. I saw you as a part of my life that was unfinished, and it just haunted me.'"

At once, Link began to see where she was headed, but decided to let her make the inevitable statement herself.

"Link," Saria continued, "I don't want to have a blank space in my life like that. Whatever happens to me a hundred years from now, or two hundred, or three hundred, or three thousand, I want to know that I used this time well. I want us to be husband and wife... and... if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to arrange it within two weeks or so."

Link leapt to his feet the very moment that she said that, and grabbed her in both arms, lifting her clean off the ground in a warm embrace. Neither of them had ever been happier.

* * *

That night, as Link escorted Saria back to Kokiri Forest, intending to spend the rest of the night in the field, he heard a sound behind him, like a gust of wind mixed with the soft pad of light feet on the ground. Link spun around in genuine fear the moment he heard that noise, however, because he knew who'd just appeared behind him, and although he didn't know why he was there, he suspected that the answer would be horrifying.

"What do you want?" Link asked the man standing before him with his hand on the hilt of his sword, though he knew it wouldn't do any good against him, because the person standing before him was Tomar.

"Actually," Tomar said with a friendly-looking smile on his face, "I wanted to thank you. Fate has changed its mind somehow, and the people of this kingdom won't have to die yet. I'm not quite sure how you accomplished that, but I know it was you."

At once, Link began to lower his hand from the hilt of the Master Sword, and said in surprise, "That's just about the last answer I expected from you."

"Like most creatures, you've misjudged me." Tomar replied, however, though he didn't look surprised, or really, offended either, "As you've undoubtedly suspected, I am an angel of death, but that doesn't mean I advocate it in all cases. Usually, I'm the other way around, in fact. Like every other creature in the universe, I have a job to do, and a function to perform, even when I don't agree with it. Death is necessary in this universe, if life is going to be maintained, but even so, I think my job is repulsive sometimes. I've become pretty fond of Hyrule over the last few dozen centuries, though, so I don't like having to visit it."

"You're here now." Link noted, still feeling a little worried by that, in spite of what Tomar was saying.

"That's mostly accidental." The angel responded with a glance to one side, "Fate doesn't often change its mind about something, and to be honest, you threw me for a very relieving loop with that one. Also, I can probably manage to pretend that I'm not here on business, but it would be the first time I've ever had to make that claim."

Link just nodded at that point, however. There seemed to be a tragic sorrow in Tomar's eyes, which ran all the way down to his very core, but Link could tell that apart from that, there might well be a truly good soul inside that messenger of death; a soul that wanted to see things work out for good people, and was sad that the nature of his job prevented him from interfering in the lives of those he served. Link was, for a moment, starting to feel sympathetically towards him, so he gave Tomar a short, respectful bow, and spoke again.

"Was that all you wanted to say?"

"You're right, of course." Tomar just replied to Link's rather curt inquiry, "I do have other things to get to very shortly, but I hope you won't bear me any malice when I'm forced to separate you from your loved ones."

"After what you've told me just now," Link said, however, his own expression softening, "I don't think I could ever bear you any malice again, no matter who you take, but I hope it'll be many years before that time comes."

"Yes." Tomar replied, with an expression which was, even to Link, indecipherable, "So do I."

Then, the wind began to blow along Hyrule Field, and within moments, Tomar was gone, and Link was alone, once again consumed by his thoughts. Still, despite the conversation that he'd just had, and the person he'd just had it with, his thoughts were all about the beautiful thing known as life; primarily his life, and the plans he had to make for his upcoming wedding, his new students in the Knight Academy, and the countless other wonders that his future would undoubtedly hold.

* * *

The End.

* * *

Well, that the grand finale. I may write more one of these days, but for now, this is it. I hope you've enjoyed this work as much as I have, and any questions about the work or the characters will be eagerly answered. For the moment, however, I've decided to anticipate one or two.

First, Saria is not a little girl. I know she looks like one, but she's ancient in both mind and body; just not in appearance. It would be more accurate to think of her as a very whimsical hobbit. Thinking of her this way, the ending makes a lot more sense, and is less icky.

Secondly; yes, Ganondorf will recover. He'll come to his senses, forget his recent experiences, and go for the Triforce again, but not in Link's lifetime. The next time he shows up will be during "A Link to the Past."

Thirdly, we may not find out what exactly that future time was over-written by, but we can be sure that Hyrule won't wind up being flooded, the way it was in that timeline. It was a bad idea to begin with, and took a lot of work to fix. Still, I did have a lot of fun writing this, and I'll probably read it over and over again.

Lastly, do I hate the Wind Waker now? Well, no. Not really. I used to. When I first got it, I was furious with the game, but I spent so much time griping about it, writing about it, and exalting its characters, that it's now become a rather large part of my life. I wrote this story about it, and even met my best friend while complaining about it on the internet. Looking back on it, I just can't bring myself to hate the game anymore, and just in case there are others out there who feel the same way I once did, I hope that this tale helped to bring you at least some of the peace that it brought me.

Thanks for reading. Good night, and God love you!


End file.
